Gervis
An English name derived from the Old French word "gervis", meaning "servant".
Name Census estimates that about 52 living Americans carry the first name Gervis. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gervis today is around 79 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gervis births was 1926 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gervis. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Gervis is about 79 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Gervis' were born before 1957.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gervis. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
52
~ 1 in 6,591,430 Americans
Peak year
1926
13 babies that year
Average age
79
years old
1973 SSA rank
#5,366
Tracked since 1914
Census
Gervis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 159 people with the first name Gervis, which placed it at #43,953 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
#43,953
National first-name rank
People counted
159
159 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gervis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gervis is White at 52.8%. The next largest groups are Black (33.3%) and Hispanic (12.6%). 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 Gervis 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 Gervis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.8% · 84
- Black or African American33.3% · 53
- Hispanic or Latino12.6% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
- Two or more races0.6% · 1
Popularity
Gervis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gervis from the 1910s through to the 1970s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 80 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gervis 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 Gervis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gervis
The given name Gervis originated from the Old French Gervais, which was derived from the Germanic Gēr meaning "spear" and waid meaning "to hunt." This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with hunters or warriors in medieval France and neighboring regions.
The name can be traced back to the late 10th century, with records showing its use among the nobility and aristocracy of medieval Europe. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Gervis d'Aunay, a Norman knight who participated in the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
In the 12th century, the name gained religious significance when Saint Gervis, a French abbot and scholar, became widely venerated in Normandy and parts of England. This likely contributed to the name's popularity among Christians during the Middle Ages.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Gervis was Gervis de Cornhill, a prominent English landowner and Sheriff of Surrey in the late 12th century. He played a significant role in the administration of King Richard I and was instrumental in the construction of the Tower of London.
Another individual of note was Gervis de Pinkeny, a 13th-century English nobleman and landowner who served as a baron and held extensive estates in Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire.
In the 14th century, Gervis d'Arcy was a prominent English knight and military commander who fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. He was renowned for his bravery and leadership in various battles.
During the 15th century, Gervis Wogan was a Welsh soldier and diplomat who served as the Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1388 to 1392. He was known for his efforts in maintaining peace and stability in Ireland during a turbulent period.
While the name Gervis has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains a part of historical records and cultural heritage, particularly in regions with strong ties to medieval France and England.
People
Gervis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gervis 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
Gervis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gervis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 52 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gervis 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 6,591,430 US residents.
Is Gervis a common name?
We classify Gervis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 217 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gervis most popular?
The single biggest year for Gervis was 1926, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gervis is about 79 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gervis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 159 people with the name Gervis, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,953 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 Gervis 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 Gervis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gervis leans strongly male. 147 people counted with this name were male (88.6%), compared with 19 female bearers (11.4%). 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 Gervis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gervis is White at 52.8%. The next largest groups are Black (33.3%) and Hispanic (12.6%). 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 Gervis most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gervis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.8% (84 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 Gervis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gervis a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gervis 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 Gervis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gervis 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 Gervis 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 many Americans are named Gervis?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.