Norval
A Scottish surname derived from the Old Norse personal name "Nordrvallr".
Name Census estimates that about 564 living Americans carry the first name Norval. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Norval today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Norval births was 1918 (84 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Norval. 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 Norval is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Norvals were born before 1960.
People living today
564
~ 1 in 607,720 Americans
Peak year
1918
84 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1981 SSA rank
#4,398
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Norval: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Norval from the 1880s through to the 1980s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 639 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
Norval 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 Norval during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Norvals live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Missouri, Indiana, Illinois recorded the most babies named Norval, while Pennsylvania, New York, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Norval
The name Norval is of Scottish origin and is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old Norse words "norðr" meaning "north" and "völlr" meaning "field" or "plain". The name is thought to have been given to someone who lived in a northern field or plain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Norval can be found in the medieval Scottish epic poem "The Brus" by John Barbour, written in the late 14th century. The poem mentions a character named Norval of Dawyck, who was a supporter of Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence.
In the 16th century, a Scottish poet and satirist named Sir David Lyndsay (c. 1490-1555) wrote a play called "Ane Satyre of the Thrie Estaits" which featured a character named Norval. This play is considered one of the earliest examples of Scottish drama and helped to popularize the name.
Another notable figure with the name Norval was Norval Outerbridge (1871-1919), a Canadian-born businessman and philanthropist who founded the Outerbridge Horseradish Company in the early 20th century. He was also a prominent member of the Philadelphia business community and donated funds towards the construction of several local institutions.
In the literary world, Norval Morrisseau (1932-2007) was a renowned Canadian artist and writer of Anishinaabe descent. He is considered a pioneer of the Woodlands School of Canadian art and is widely recognized for his distinctive painting style depicting Indigenous legends and spiritual themes.
Finally, Norval Baptie (1925-2008) was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward for various clubs in the Scottish Football League during the 1940s and 1950s, including Hibernian and East Fife. He was known for his goal-scoring abilities and is remembered as one of the top strikers of his era in Scottish football.
People
Norval + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Norval 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
Norval: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Norval?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 564 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Norval 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 607,720 US residents.
Is Norval a common name?
We classify Norval as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,377 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Norval most popular?
The single biggest year for Norval was 1918, when 84 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Norval is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Norval a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Norval 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.
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.