Marva
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly from French or Persian.
Name Census estimates that about 5,620 living Americans carry the first name Marva. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marva today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marva births was 1948 (371 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marva. 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 Marva is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Marvas were born before 1967.
People living today
5.6K
~ 1 in 60,988 Americans
Peak year
1948
371 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1936 SSA rank
#3,060
Tracked since 1913
Gender
Gender distribution for Marva
Out of the 10,369 babies given the name Marva since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Marva as a male name
- Ranked #3,060 in 1936
- 7 male births in 1936
- Peak: 1936 (7 births)
Marva as a female name
- Ranked #16,741 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1948 (371 births)
Popularity
Marva: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marva from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 3,116 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marva 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 Marva during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marvas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 36 states and territories. Texas, Florida, California recorded the most babies named Marva, while Wisconsin, North Dakota, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 213 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marva
Marva is a feminine given name with origins that can be traced back to ancient Persian and Sanskrit languages. It is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word "marva," which means "bright" or "shining." This name was popular in ancient Persia, modern-day Iran, and surrounding regions during the early centuries of the common era.
The name Marva has been found in various historical records and ancient texts from the Middle East and South Asia. In Persian literature, there are references to a character named Marva in the epic poem "Shahnameh," written by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century AD. This work is considered a masterpiece of Persian literature and has had a significant influence on the cultural heritage of the region.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Marva dates back to the 7th century AD. Marva al-Hamdaniya was a prominent Arabic poet and scholar who lived during the Umayyad Caliphate. She was known for her contributions to Arabic poetry and her expertise in various fields, including grammar and literature.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Marva. In the 13th century, Marva Khan was a powerful ruler and military commander of the Delhi Sultanate in India. He played a pivotal role in the expansion and consolidation of the Sultanate's control over the region.
Another famous figure named Marva was Marva Trakhanov (1888-1962), a Russian-American ballet dancer and choreographer. She was a pioneer in the development of modern dance and worked closely with renowned artists such as Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham.
Marva Collins (1936-2015) was an American educator and philanthropist who gained recognition for her innovative teaching methods and her work in empowering underprivileged children through education. She founded the Marva Collins Preparatory School in Chicago and received numerous awards and honors for her contributions to education.
Marva Whitney (1944-2012) was an American soul and funk singer, often referred to as "Soul Sister No. 1." She was renowned for her powerful and soulful voice and released several successful albums throughout her career, including "It's My Thing" and "Unwind Yourself."
Notable bearers
Famous people named Marva
People
Marva + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marva as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Marva: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marva?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,620 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marva 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 60,988 US residents.
Is Marva a common name?
We classify Marva as "Rare". It ranks above 96.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,369 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marva most popular?
The single biggest year for Marva was 1948, when 371 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marva is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marva a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Marva 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.