Yves
A French name of Old German/Frisian origin meaning "archer" or "bowman".
Name Census estimates that about 1,146 living Americans carry the first name Yves. It is a predominantly male name (95.9% of registrations). The average person named Yves today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yves births was 1985 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yves. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 299,088 Americans
Peak year
1985
37 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,423
Tracked since 1916
Gender
Gender distribution for Yves
Yves leans heavily male at 95.9% of total registrations, but 50 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Yves as a male name
- Ranked #5,423 in 2024
- 18 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1985 (37 births)
Yves as a female name
- Ranked #15,182 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (10 births)
Popularity
Yves: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yves from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 278 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Yves remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yves 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 Yves during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yves' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, Florida, California recorded the most babies named Yves, while New Jersey, Georgia, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 64 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Yves
The name Yves originated from the French form of the ancient Germanic name Ivo. It is derived from the words "iv" meaning yew, and "vig" meaning vigor or strength. This name has been in use since at least the 9th century in parts of Western Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yves can be found in the historical record of a Breton bishop and saint, Yves Hélori, who lived from 1253 to 1303. He was known for his piety, charitable works, and defense of the poor against the oppression of the nobility.
Another notable figure in history with the name Yves was Yves de Chartres, a French theologian and philosopher who lived from around 1040 to 1115. He was a prominent teacher and writer during the scholastic period and his works influenced the development of medieval philosophy and theology.
In the 17th century, Yves Boucherat (1630-1726) was a prominent French jurist and statesman who served as the Chancellor of France under Louis XIV. He is remembered for his efforts to reform and modernize the French legal system.
Moving into the 19th century, Yves Menard (1807-1858) was a French poet and novelist who was part of the Romantic movement. His works, such as "Rêveries d'un païen mystique" (Reveries of a Mystic Pagan), explored themes of nature, spirituality, and mythology.
Another notable figure with the name Yves was Yves Tanguy (1900-1955), a French surrealist painter known for his unique and imaginative landscapes featuring strange, biomorphic forms and dreamlike imagery. His works are considered influential in the development of surrealism in art.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who bore the name Yves, which has a rich heritage rooted in ancient European cultures and has been carried by notable individuals across various fields throughout history.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Yves
People
Yves + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yves as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yves: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yves?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,146 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yves 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 299,088 US residents.
Is Yves a common name?
We classify Yves as "Rare". It ranks above 91% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,234 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yves most popular?
The single biggest year for Yves was 1985, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yves is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Yves a male name?
Yes, 95.9% of people registered as Yves 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.