Alvina
Feminine · “elf friend”
Alvina is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 10,502 girls against 5 boys since 1880.
Alvina is a friend of elves — which sounds fanciful and is entirely literal. Old English and Germanic naming took the supernatural seriously enough to put elves in ordinary personal names.
How old is the name Alvina?
Alvina was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Alvina alive today was born around 1921, making them about 104 years old. About 2,900 people named Alvina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Alvina most popular?
Alvina peaked in 1883, reaching #236 nationally. Today it ranks #6116, 5,880 places below that high. See the whole 1883 chart.
Where it comes from
From Ælfwine to Alvina
The story of Alvina
Ælfwine was an Anglo-Saxon name that survived the Conquest in reduced use and was revived in the nineteenth century as Alvin, when Old English names came back into fashion. Feminines were built on it in the ordinary way: Alvina, Alvena, Alwina. German-speaking families used Alwina independently, and both streams reached American records, where Alvina peaked around 1912.
Meaning
elf friend
Through Alvin, from the Old English Ælfwine — ælf, 'elf', and wine, 'friend'. The elf element was common in Anglo-Saxon names: Alfred is 'elf counsel', Elvira and Alberich are related. Elves in that world were powerful and ambiguous beings rather than small decorative ones.
How the name formed
- Ælfwine
- Alvin
- Alvina
Related forms: Alwina · Alvena · Elvina
Pronouncing Alvina
al-VEE-nuh
Three syllables, stress in the middle. German says it with a fuller first vowel and the same shape.
Nicknames for Alvina
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1916283 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #236reached in 1883
- Change vs 2022
- −5.0%19 in 2025, from 20
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Alvina in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Alwina in German — spelling variant
- Alvena in English — spelling variant
- Elvina in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York.
Alvinas among us
people named Alvina are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 84,593 born in 2025 was named Alvina
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Alvina sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Alvina beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Alvina in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The elf-friend meaning is vivid, documented and genuinely unusual.
- It has an unbroken Anglo-Saxon and German history rather than being a modern feminine.
- Three syllables with a strong middle, a rhythm that carries well.
- The elf element means something different to modern ears than it did to Anglo-Saxon ones.
- It is period-coded to the early twentieth century.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Alvina to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Alvina? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Alvina
Feminine · #6116 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Alvinas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,900 people named Alvina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Alvina in 2025?
- Alvina ranks #6116 among US girl names in 2025, with 19 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Alvina?
- About 1 in every 84,593 US girls born in 2025 was named Alvina — 19 in all.
- Will my child share the name Alvina with classmates?
- Alvina will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Alvina
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Mena#6116 · Harvey#6116 · Kellie#6116 · Alden#6116 · Jeanna#6116 · Sammi#6116 · Jai#6116 · Mamie#6116
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Alvina? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Alvina and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle