Reven
A name derived from the raven, a bird symbolizing wisdom and insight.
Name Census estimates that about 73 living Americans carry the first name Reven. It is a predominantly male name (91.9% of registrations). The average person named Reven today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reven births was 2024 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reven. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Reven. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
73
~ 1 in 4,695,265 Americans
Peak year
2024
10 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,164
Tracked since 1995
Census
Reven in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 165 people with the first name Reven, which placed it at #43,061 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
#43,061
National first-name rank
People counted
165
165 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reven
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reven is White at 59.4%. The next largest groups are Black (14.5%) and Hispanic (9.7%). 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 Reven 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 Reven at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.4% · 98
- Black or African American14.5% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino9.7% · 16
- Two or more races9.1% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.7% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Reven
Reven leans heavily male at 91.9% of total registrations, but 6 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Reven as a male name
- Ranked #8,164 in 2024
- 10 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (10 births)
Reven as a female name
- Ranked #12,999 in 1995
- 6 female births in 1995
- Peak: 1995 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Reven on both sides of the split. Of the 160 people counted with this name, 104 were male (65.0%) and 56 were female (35.0%).
Popularity
Reven: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reven from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 26 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Reven 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 Reven 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 Reven
The name Reven is a modern variation of the older name Raven, which has its roots in Old English. It is derived from the word "ræfn," which means "raven" in that language, referring to the distinctive black bird. The name was likely bestowed upon individuals who possessed traits associated with the raven, such as intelligence, mystery, or a dark appearance.
While the name Raven has been used for centuries, the spelling variation Reven is relatively recent. It arose as a way to create a unique twist on the traditional name, potentially influenced by the popularity of alternative spellings in modern times. This variation is not as widely documented in historical records as the original Raven.
The name Raven has appeared in various literary works throughout history, including the famous poem "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, published in 1845. In this work, Poe personifies the raven as a mysterious and ominous figure, adding to the symbolism associated with the name.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Raven was Raven the Elder (c. 610-687), an Anglo-Saxon monk and scholar who was the Abbot of Melrose Abbey in Scotland. His contributions to the preservation of ancient manuscripts and the spread of Christianity in the region earned him a place in history.
Another notable figure was Raven de Caldecote (c. 1170-1235), an English judge and landowner who served as a justice itinerant during the reign of King John and Henry III. His name is recorded in various legal documents and property records from that era.
In the realm of literature, Raven Grimassi (born 1951) is a well-known author and historian of neo-pagan and Wiccan traditions. His works, such as "The Wiccan Mysteries" and "Stregheria: La Vecchia Religione," have contributed significantly to the understanding of these belief systems.
Raven Wilkinson (born 1935) was a pioneer in the world of ballet, becoming the first African American woman to receive a contracted position with a major classical ballet company in the United States. She danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and later worked to promote diversity and inclusion in the arts.
Lastly, Raven Symone (born 1985) is a popular American actress and singer who gained fame as a child star on the television series "The Cosby Show" and its spin-off "That's So Raven." She has since continued her career in various television and film roles, as well as music endeavors.
While the name Reven is a relatively modern variation, it carries the rich heritage and symbolism of its older counterpart, Raven, which has been a part of various cultures and historical records throughout the centuries.
People
Reven + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reven as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Reven: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reven?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 73 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reven 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 4,695,265 US residents.
Is Reven a common name?
We classify Reven as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 74 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reven most popular?
The single biggest year for Reven was 2024, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reven is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Reven in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 165 people with the name Reven, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,061 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 Reven 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 Reven?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Reven on both sides of the split. Of the 160 people counted with this name, 104 were male (65.0%) and 56 were female (35.0%). 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 Reven?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reven is White at 59.4%. The next largest groups are Black (14.5%) and Hispanic (9.7%). 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 Reven most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Reven in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.4% (98 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 Reven in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Reven a male name?
Yes, 91.9% of people registered as Reven 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 Reven still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Reven 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 Reven 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 share the name Reven?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.