Alvis
Masculine · “all-wise”
Alvis is given to both — 5,206 boys and 326 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Alviss is a dwarf in the Norse poems who comes to claim Thor's daughter, and Thor, who cannot refuse outright, asks him questions instead. The dwarf answers every one, at length, until the sun comes up and turns him to stone. His name means all-wise, and the poem is about being clever enough to talk yourself to death.
How old is the name Alvis?
Alvis first appears in US birth records in 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Alvis alive today was born around 1940, making them about 85 years old. About 2,100 people named Alvis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Alvis most popular?
Alvis peaked in 1912, reaching #552 nationally. Today it ranks #6446, 5,894 places below that high. See the whole 1912 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Alviss to Alvis
The story of Alvis
The Alvissmal is one of the poems of the Poetic Edda, and its whole substance is a vocabulary lesson: Thor asks the dwarf what each thing in the world is called among gods, elves, giants and dwarves, and Alviss recites the answers, which is why the poem is one of the richest surviving sources for Old Norse poetic names. In America the name Alvis is more often a cousin of Alvin, which was itself revived from Old English by nineteenth-century antiquarian enthusiasm. Its best year on record is 1912, in that revival's period, and it was also the name of a British car maker for most of the twentieth century.
Meaningscholars disagree
all-wise
Old Norse Alviss, from al, all, and viss, wise, is the straightforward reading and belongs to the figure in the Alvissmal. The American name Alvis is at least as likely to be a variant of Alvin, from Old English aelf, elf, plus wine, friend, or a surname form of it. Both are defensible for any given bearer and the records cannot separate them.
How the name formed
- Alviss
- Alvis
Related forms: Alviss · Alvin · Alvis
Pronouncing Alvis
AL-viss
Two syllables with the stress on the first. One letter from Elvis, which is a separate name and the one most Americans will hear.
Nicknames for Alvis
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
- 1881
- Most boys named
- 192399 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #552reached in 1912
- Change vs 2022
- +8.3%13 in 2025, from 12
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.
Alvis in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Alviss in Old Norse — same name
- Alvin in English — related form
- Alvis in Latvian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Alviss among us
people named Alvis are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 131,390 born in 2025 was named Alvis
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
Alvis 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
Alvis beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Alvis in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented Old Norse name with a memorable story attached to it.
- Al is a short form that works at any age and in any setting.
- Very rare in the United States while being simple to say and spell.
- It is one letter from Elvis, and that comparison will be made constantly.
- Alvin is far more common and will be substituted.
- The Norse figure it can be traced to is a dwarf who loses.
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What they receive
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Alvis
Masculine · #6446 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Alviss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,100 people named Alvis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Alvis in 2025?
- Alvis ranks #6446 among US boy names in 2025, with 13 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Alvis?
- About 1 in every 131,390 US boys born in 2025 was named Alvis — 13 in all.
- Will my child share the name Alvis with classmates?
- Alvis will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Alvis
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rollie#6446 · Billie#6446 · Worth#6446 · Blas#6446 · Starling#6446 · Elwyn#6446 · Sal#6446 · Rollin#6446
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Alvis? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Alvis and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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