Nevyn
A form of the Old Welsh name Nefyn meaning "divine, heavenly".
Name Census estimates that about 149 living Americans carry the first name Nevyn. It is a predominantly male name (96.7% of registrations). The average person named Nevyn today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nevyn births was 2009 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nevyn. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nevyn with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
149
~ 1 in 2,300,365 Americans
Peak year
2009
16 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2022 SSA rank
#10,540
Tracked since 1999
Census
Nevyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 169 people with the first name Nevyn, which placed it at #42,487 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
#42,487
National first-name rank
People counted
169
169 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nevyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nevyn is White at 51.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.1%) and Black (13.0%). 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 Nevyn 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 Nevyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.5% · 87
- Hispanic or Latino20.1% · 34
- Black or African American13.0% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.1% · 12
- Two or more races7.1% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Nevyn
Nevyn leans heavily male at 96.7% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nevyn as a male name
- Ranked #10,540 in 2022
- 7 male births in 2022
- Peak: 2009 (16 births)
Nevyn as a female name
- Ranked #19,702 in 2007
- 5 female births in 2007
- Peak: 2007 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nevyn leans strongly male. 145 people counted with this name were male (84.3%), compared with 27 female bearers (15.7%).
Popularity
Nevyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nevyn from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 81 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
Nevyn 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 Nevyn 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 Nevyn
The name Nevyn is of Welsh origin, derived from the ancient British language of Brythonic. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, likely between the 5th and 11th centuries, when the Welsh language and culture were flourishing in Britain. The name is thought to be a variation or diminutive form of the Welsh name Nefyn, which itself is derived from the Brythonic word "nev" meaning "heaven" or "sky."
Nevyn was a relatively uncommon name in early medieval Wales, but it gained some prominence in the 12th century with the birth of Nevyn ap Gwrgan, a Welsh warrior and nobleman who fought alongside the legendary Prince Rhys ap Gruffydd during the struggle against Norman rule in South Wales. Nevyn ap Gwrgan's exploits were recorded in various medieval Welsh chronicles and histories, helping to solidify the name's place in Welsh culture and tradition.
Another notable figure bearing the name Nevyn was Nevyn Fardd, a 14th-century Welsh bard and poet who gained renown for his poetic works celebrating Welsh history, mythology, and the natural beauty of his homeland. Nevyn Fardd's poems were widely circulated and admired by his contemporaries, contributing to the enduring legacy of the name among the Welsh people.
In the 15th century, a Welsh cleric named Nevyn ap Rhys rose to prominence as a scholar and theologian. He was known for his extensive knowledge of the Bible and his eloquent sermons, which attracted large audiences throughout Wales. Nevyn ap Rhys' reputation as a learned and influential figure helped to further establish the name's prestige within Welsh society.
A more recent historical figure with the name Nevyn was Nevyn Nevill Grenville, a British diplomat and politician who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Born in 1755, Grenville served as a Member of Parliament and held various diplomatic posts, including Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. His distinguished career and noble lineage contributed to the continued use of the name Nevyn among the British aristocracy.
It is worth noting that while the name Nevyn has its roots in Welsh culture and history, it has also been adopted and used in other contexts and cultures over the centuries, particularly in literary works and fantasy settings inspired by Welsh mythology and folklore.
People
Nevyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nevyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nevyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nevyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 149 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nevyn 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 2,300,365 US residents.
Is Nevyn a common name?
We classify Nevyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 151 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nevyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Nevyn was 2009, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nevyn is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nevyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 169 people with the name Nevyn, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,487 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 Nevyn 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 Nevyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nevyn leans strongly male. 145 people counted with this name were male (84.3%), compared with 27 female bearers (15.7%). 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 Nevyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nevyn is White at 51.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.1%) and Black (13.0%). 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 Nevyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nevyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.5% (87 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 Nevyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nevyn a male name?
Yes, 96.7% of people registered as Nevyn 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 Nevyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nevyn 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 Nevyn 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 Nevyn as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.