Calvert
Masculine · “Middle English calf and hierde”
Maryland was founded by a family of cowherds, at least by surname. Calvert means calf-herd, and the Calverts, Lords Baltimore, held the colony as personal property for a century and a half.
How old is the name Calvert?
Calvert first appears in US birth records in 1902 — 123 years ago. The typical Calvert alive today was born around 1952, making them about 73 years old. About 900 people named Calvert are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Calvert most popular?
Calvert peaked in 1914, reaching #1127 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 9,568 places below that high. See the whole 1914 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From calfhierde to Calvert
The story of Calvert
George Calvert was a secretary of state who resigned his office when he converted to Catholicism, and was given an Irish barony and, eventually, a charter for a colony where Catholics could settle. He died before it was issued; his son Cecil founded Maryland in 1634 and the family held it as a proprietary colony, appointing governors and collecting rents, until the Revolution. The Maryland Toleration Act of 1649, passed under their government, is one of the earliest laws anywhere guaranteeing freedom of worship, within limits, to Christians of different kinds. The surname behind all of it is a plain occupational one, a man who looked after calves, which is the ordinary situation with English aristocratic names.
Meaning
Middle English calf and hierde, calf-herd
From an occupational surname for a keeper of calves, from Middle English. George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore, obtained the charter for Maryland, and his son Cecil founded the colony in 1634. The American peak of the given name is 1914.
How the name formed
- calfhierde
- Calvert
Related forms: Calvert
Pronouncing Calvert
KAL-vurt
Two syllables, stress on the first, the second reduced.
Nicknames for Calvert
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
- 1902
- Most boys named
- 195429 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1127reached in 1914
- Change vs 2023
- 0.0%6 in 2025, from 6
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.
Calvert in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Calvert in English — same name
Calverts among us
people named Calvert are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Calvert
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
Calvert 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
Calvert beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Calvert in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Cal is an immediate short form for either sex.
- The occupational meaning is documented and plain.
- It has a substantial American colonial history.
- It reads as a surname to most Americans.
- It will be heard as Calvin or Culvert.
- The 1914 peak dates its use as a given name.
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Calvert
Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Calverts are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Calvert are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Calvert in 2025?
- Calvert ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Calvert?
- About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Calvert — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Calvert with classmates?
- Calvert will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Calvert
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
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Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Calvert? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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