Find out how popular the last name Calvin is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Calvin.

Calvin, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Calvin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Calvin in America

Calvin is the 3763rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Calvin surname appeared 9,412 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Calvin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Calvin to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Calvin

The surname Calvin is of French origin, derived from the Old French word "calvo" or "chauf" meaning "bald" or "bare". It is believed to have originated as a nickname for someone with a bald or tonsured head, common among medieval monks and clergymen. The name can be traced back to the 12th century in regions of northern France, particularly in Normandy and Brittany.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Calvin appears in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry mentions a landowner named "Calvinus" in Lincolnshire.

In the 13th century, the name Calvin was found in various spellings such as "Calvyn", "Calvine", and "Calveyn" in medieval records and charters from Normandy and the surrounding areas.

A notable figure bearing the surname Calvin was John Calvin, the influential French theologian and Protestant reformer born in 1509 in Noyon, Picardy. He was a pivotal figure in the Protestant Reformation and the development of the theological system of Calvinism.

Another prominent individual with the surname Calvin was Samuel Calvin, an American geologist and professor at the University of Iowa, born in 1840 and died in 1911. He made significant contributions to the study of glacial geology and the geological history of the Midwestern United States.

In the 16th century, the surname Calvin was also associated with the town of Calvin in Burgundy, France, which may have contributed to the spread and use of the name in that region.

William Calvin, an American theoretical neurophysiologist and author, born in 1939, is known for his contributions to the understanding of the brain's role in consciousness and the evolution of intelligent behavior.

Melvin Calvin, an American chemist, born in 1911 and died in 1997, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1961 for his research on the carbon dioxide assimilation in plants, known as the Calvin cycle.

John William Calvin, an American soldier and politician, born in 1875 and died in 1951, served as a US Representative from Kansas and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Spanish-American War.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Calvin

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Calvin.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Calvin was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Calvin has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Calvin was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Calvin, please contact us.

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