Irvan
A name of Celtic origin loosely meaning "green river valley".
Name Census estimates that about 46 living Americans carry the first name Irvan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Irvan today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Irvan births was 1917 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Irvan. 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 Irvan is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Irvans were born before 1959.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Irvan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
46
~ 1 in 7,451,181 Americans
Peak year
1917
14 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1987 SSA rank
#7,416
Tracked since 1910
Census
Irvan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 205 people with the first name Irvan, which placed it at #37,817 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
#37,817
National first-name rank
People counted
205
205 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
45.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Irvan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Irvan is White at 45.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.0%) and Black (19.0%). 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 Irvan 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 Irvan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.9% · 94
- Hispanic or Latino22.0% · 45
- Black or African American19.0% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.8% · 18
- Two or more races2.4% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 4
Popularity
Irvan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Irvan from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 86 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
Irvan 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 Irvan 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 Irvan
The given name Irvan is believed to have originated from the Persian language, where it is derived from the word "Irvan," which means "brave" or "courageous." This name has been in use for centuries, with its roots tracing back to the ancient Persian Empire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Irvan can be found in the Shahnameh, an epic poem written by the renowned Persian poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century. In this literary masterpiece, Irvan is mentioned as the name of a brave warrior who fought alongside the legendary hero Rostam.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Irvan. One such individual was Irvan the Great, a Persian commander who lived during the 7th century. He played a crucial role in the Islamic conquest of Persia and is remembered for his military prowess and strategic brilliance.
Another historical figure with the name Irvan was Irvan ibn Husayn, a prominent Islamic scholar and theologian who lived in the 9th century. He was renowned for his contributions to the study of hadith (prophetic traditions) and his influential works on Islamic jurisprudence.
In the realm of literature, the name Irvan is associated with Irvan Pasha, a 16th-century Ottoman poet and writer. His poetic works, particularly his ghazals (lyric poems), were highly acclaimed and widely read during his time.
Moving forward in history, Irvan Ismail was a renowned Iranian artist and calligrapher who lived in the 20th century (1920-1992). His intricate calligraphic works and paintings were celebrated for their beauty and mastery of the art form, and he is considered one of the most influential Iranian artists of the modern era.
These are just a few examples of the notable individuals who have carried the name Irvan throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields such as warfare, scholarship, literature, and art.
People
Irvan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Irvan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Irvan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Irvan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 46 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Irvan 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 7,451,181 US residents.
Is Irvan a common name?
We classify Irvan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 264 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Irvan most popular?
The single biggest year for Irvan was 1917, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Irvan is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Irvan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 205 people with the name Irvan, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,817 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 Irvan 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 Irvan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Irvan appears almost entirely male. Of the 205 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Irvan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Irvan is White at 45.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.0%) and Black (19.0%). 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 Irvan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Irvan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.9% (94 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 Irvan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Irvan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Irvan 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 Irvan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Irvan 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 Irvan 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 Irvan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.