Traven
Of Germanic origin meaning "wanderer" or "traveler".
Name Census estimates that about 792 living Americans carry the first name Traven. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Traven today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Traven births was 2007 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Traven. 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
792
~ 1 in 432,771 Americans
Peak year
2007
43 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,013
Tracked since 1974
Census
Traven in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 676 people with the first name Traven, which placed it at #16,618 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
#16,618
National first-name rank
People counted
676
676 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Traven
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Traven is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (23.1%) and Two or More Races (8.7%). 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 Traven 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 Traven at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.6% · 403
- Black or African American23.1% · 156
- Two or more races8.7% · 59
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 13
Popularity
Traven: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Traven from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 334 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
Traven 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 Traven during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Travens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Illinois, Louisiana, Ohio recorded the most babies named Traven, while Utah, Texas, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Traven
The name Traven is believed to have its origins in the ancient Germanic language, stemming from the root word "trava," which means "tree" or "wood." This suggests that the name may have been originally associated with individuals who lived in forested areas or worked with wood.
In the early medieval period, the name was primarily found in various Germanic tribes and kingdoms across central and northern Europe. Historical records from the 8th to 10th centuries mention individuals with similar name variations, such as "Traveno" and "Travenus," indicating the name's longevity.
One of the earliest known references to the name Traven can be found in the Old Saxon epic poem "Heliand," dating back to the 9th century. The poem mentions a character named "Traven," who is depicted as a wise and respected figure among the Saxon people.
Interestingly, the name Traven also appears in several religious texts and contexts. In the 12th century, a Benedictine monk named Traven von Bamberg was known for his scholarly contributions and writings on monastic life. Additionally, in the 16th century, a Protestant reformer named Traven Rausch played a significant role in the spread of Lutheranism in certain regions of Germany.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Traven. One of the earliest recorded figures was Traven the Elder (c. 920 - 988), a influential nobleman and landowner in the Duchy of Saxony during the 10th century. Another prominent figure was Traven von Mainz (1160 - 1234), a renowned architect and stonemason who contributed to the construction of several iconic cathedrals in Germany.
In the literary realm, the pseudonymous author B. Traven (1890 - 1969) gained significant recognition for his novels and short stories depicting the lives of the oppressed and marginalized in Mexico during the early 20th century. His works, such as "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," have become classics of modern literature.
More recently, the German actor Traven Kauffman (1954 - ) has made a name for himself in both film and television, appearing in numerous productions and earning critical acclaim for his performances.
While the name Traven may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and linguistic roots in the Germanic tradition have left an indelible mark on the cultural tapestry of Europe and beyond.
People
Traven + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Traven as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Traven: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Traven?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 792 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Traven 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 432,771 US residents.
Is Traven a common name?
We classify Traven as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 806 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Traven most popular?
The single biggest year for Traven was 2007, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Traven is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Traven in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 676 people with the name Traven, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,618 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 Traven 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 Traven?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Traven leans strongly male. 663 people counted with this name were male (96.8%), compared with 22 female bearers (3.2%). 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 Traven?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Traven is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (23.1%) and Two or More Races (8.7%). 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 Traven most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Traven in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.6% (403 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 Traven in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Traven a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Traven 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 Traven still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Traven 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 Traven 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 Traven?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.