Kelvyn
A masculine name derived from the Irish surname Ó Cillín, meaning "descendant of the little church".
Name Census estimates that about 263 living Americans carry the first name Kelvyn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kelvyn today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kelvyn births was 2008 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kelvyn. 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
263
~ 1 in 1,303,248 Americans
Peak year
2008
16 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2021 SSA rank
#9,277
Tracked since 1980
Census
Kelvyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 386 people with the first name Kelvyn, which placed it at #24,794 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
#24,794
National first-name rank
People counted
386
386 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
57.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kelvyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kelvyn is Hispanic at 57.8%. The next largest groups are White (16.1%) and Black (15.3%). 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 Kelvyn 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 Kelvyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino57.8% · 223
- White16.1% · 62
- Black or African American15.3% · 59
- Two or more races6.0% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Kelvyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kelvyn from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 112 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
Kelvyn 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 Kelvyn 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 Kelvyn
The name Kelvyn originated in Scotland as a variant of the name Calum, which is derived from the Gaelic name Colm. Colm is a masculine name that means "dove" or "pigeon". The name Kelvyn was likely adopted as an anglicized form of the name, as it was easier for English speakers to pronounce and spell.
The earliest recorded use of the name Kelvyn dates back to the late 16th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Kelvyn Kirkpatrick, a Scottish nobleman who lived in the late 16th century. Another notable figure from Scottish history was Kelvyn Campbell, a soldier and naval officer who served in the late 17th century.
In the 19th century, the name Kelvyn became more widely used, particularly in Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom. One notable bearer of the name from this period was Kelvyn Macleod, a Scottish explorer and naturalist who was born in 1837. He is best known for his expeditions to the Arctic and his contributions to the study of natural history.
Another famous Kelvyn from the 19th century was Kelvyn Mackenzie, a Scottish author and journalist who was born in 1859. He was a prolific writer and is best known for his novels and short stories that explored themes of Scottish culture and society.
In the 20th century, the name Kelvyn continued to be used in Scotland and other parts of the English-speaking world. One notable bearer of the name was Kelvyn Jones, a Welsh actor and director who was born in 1924. He had a long and successful career in theater and television, and is best known for his roles in several British television series.
Another famous Kelvyn from the 20th century was Kelvyn Boult, a New Zealand cricketer who was born in 1919. He played for the New Zealand national cricket team and is considered one of the greatest cricketers in New Zealand's history.
While the name Kelvyn has its roots in Scottish culture and history, it has since been adopted by people of various backgrounds and nationalities. However, it remains a relatively uncommon name, particularly in more recent times.
People
Kelvyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kelvyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kelvyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kelvyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 263 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kelvyn 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 1,303,248 US residents.
Is Kelvyn a common name?
We classify Kelvyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 267 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kelvyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Kelvyn was 2008, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kelvyn is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kelvyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 386 people with the name Kelvyn, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,794 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 Kelvyn 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 Kelvyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kelvyn leans strongly male. 379 people counted with this name were male (99.0%), compared with 4 female bearers (1.0%). 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 Kelvyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kelvyn is Hispanic at 57.8%. The next largest groups are White (16.1%) and Black (15.3%). 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 Kelvyn most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Kelvyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.8% (223 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 Kelvyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kelvyn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kelvyn 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 Kelvyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kelvyn 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 Kelvyn 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 people have the name Kelvyn?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Kelvyn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.