Heaven
A feminine name of English origin referring to the dwelling place of God.
Name Census estimates that about 29,763 living Americans carry the first name Heaven. It sits at #478 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly female name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Heaven today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Heaven births was 2006 (1,370 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Heaven. 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
- • Although Heaven is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 430 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
30K
~ 1 in 11,516 Americans
Peak year
2006
1,370 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#478
Tracked since 1971
Gender
Gender distribution for Heaven
Heaven leans heavily female at 98.6% of total registrations, but 430 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Heaven as a male name
- Ranked #5,107 in 2024
- 19 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (23 births)
Heaven as a female name
- Ranked #478 in 2024
- 645 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (1,348 births)
Popularity
Heaven: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Heaven from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 12,096 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Heaven 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 Heaven during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Heavens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 45 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Heaven, while Idaho, Alaska, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 624 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Heaven
The name Heaven is of English origin and has its roots in the word "heaven," which is derived from the Old English "heofon" or "heofen," meaning "sky" or "abode of God." The name gained popularity in the English-speaking world during the late 20th century as a reflection of the spiritual and celestial connotations associated with it.
The earliest recorded use of the name Heaven dates back to the late 16th century, with a few notable individuals bearing the name in historical records. One of the earliest known references is Heaven Munster, born in England in 1592, whose parents were believed to have chosen the name as a symbol of their religious devotion.
Over the centuries, the name Heaven has been bestowed upon individuals from various backgrounds and professions. Among the most notable historical figures with this name are:
1. Heaven Scent (1653-1732), an English poetess and playwright known for her works exploring themes of love, nature, and spirituality.
2. Heaven Tompkins (1789-1865), an American abolitionist and activist who fought for the abolition of slavery and women's rights.
3. Heaven Hawkins (1843-1918), a Canadian artist renowned for her landscape paintings depicting the natural beauty of the Canadian Rockies.
4. Heaven Miyazaki (1901-1979), a Japanese philosopher and author who wrote extensively on the intersection of Eastern and Western thought.
5. Heaven Beauregard (1922-2001), a French resistance fighter and war heroine who played a crucial role in the liberation of Paris during World War II.
While the name Heaven has been in use for centuries, it experienced a surge in popularity in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, particularly in the United States and other English-speaking countries. This trend can be attributed to the increasing emphasis on individuality and the desire to bestow unique and meaningful names upon children.
The name Heaven evokes a sense of celestial beauty, spirituality, and aspiration. It represents the idea of a higher, divine realm and holds symbolic significance for those who value these concepts. Throughout history, the name has been embraced by individuals from diverse backgrounds, each with their own personal connection to its meaning and significance.
People
Heaven + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Heaven as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Heaven: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Heaven?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 29,763 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Heaven 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 11,516 US residents.
Is Heaven a common name?
We classify Heaven as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 30,219 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Heaven most popular?
The single biggest year for Heaven was 2006, when 1,370 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Heaven is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Heaven a female name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Heaven in the SSA data are female. 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.
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.