Gavino
A masculine name of Spanish/Sardinian origin derived from Saint Gavinus meaning "little seagull".
Name Census estimates that about 1,508 living Americans carry the first name Gavino. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gavino today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gavino births was 2008 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gavino. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 227,291 Americans
Peak year
2008
43 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,564
Tracked since 1915
Census
Gavino in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,832 people with the first name Gavino, which placed it at #8,037 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#8,037
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,832 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
89.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gavino
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gavino is Hispanic at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.8%) and White (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gavino described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gavino at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.1% · 1,633
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.8% · 88
- White4.5% · 82
- Two or more races0.9% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
- Black or African American0.3% · 5
Popularity
Gavino: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gavino from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 312 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Gavino remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gavino by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gavino during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gavinos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Gavino, while Illinois, Florida, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 206 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gavino
The name Gavino is of Italian origin, specifically from the Sardinian language. It dates back to the Middle Ages and is derived from the Late Latin name Gavinus, which itself comes from the Latin name Gabinus. The name is believed to be related to the word "gabbio," meaning "cage" in Italian.
In Sardinian culture, the name Gavino was often associated with the religious figure Saint Gavino, who was a Christian martyr from the early 4th century. According to legend, Saint Gavino was a Roman soldier who was executed for his faith during the reign of Diocletian. His cult was particularly popular in Sardinia, and many churches and villages were named after him.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gavino can be found in the 12th century, in a document from the Archdiocese of Cagliari in Sardinia. Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the name was widely used in Sardinia and other parts of Italy.
Among the notable historical figures who bore the name Gavino is Gavino Sambigucci (1592-1654), an Italian painter and artist from Bologna. His works can be found in various churches and galleries across Italy.
Another notable Gavino was Gavino Guanco (1712-1799), a Sardinian philosopher and writer who was a prominent figure in the Enlightenment movement in Italy. He wrote extensively on topics such as ethics, politics, and education.
In the 19th century, Gavino Fara (1828-1899) was a Sardinian politician and journalist who played a significant role in the Italian unification movement. He was a supporter of Giuseppe Garibaldi and served as a member of the Italian Parliament.
Gavino Ledda (1938-2009) was a renowned Sardinian novelist and poet who wrote in both Italian and Sardinian languages. His works explored themes of Sardinian identity, history, and culture, and he was widely celebrated for his contributions to Sardinian literature.
Lastly, Gavino Sanna (1957-present) is a contemporary Sardinian artist known for his innovative use of materials and techniques in sculpting. His works have been exhibited in galleries and museums across Europe and have received critical acclaim.
People
Gavino + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gavino as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gavino: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gavino?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,508 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gavino going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 227,291 US residents.
Is Gavino a common name?
We classify Gavino as "Rare". It ranks above 92.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,762 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gavino most popular?
The single biggest year for Gavino was 2008, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gavino is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gavino in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,832 people with the name Gavino, or 0.61 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,037 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gavino in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gavino?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gavino appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,834 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gavino?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gavino is Hispanic at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.8%) and White (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gavino most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Gavino in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (1,633 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gavino in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gavino a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gavino in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Gavino still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gavino in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gavino can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Gavino?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.