Colvin
Masculine · “dove”
Columba means dove in Latin, and so does columbine — the flower is named for the shape of its petals, which somebody thought looked like five doves in a circle. The saint who left Ireland for a small island off Scotland in 563 carried the same word.
How old is the name Colvin?
Colvin first appears in US birth records in 1899 — 126 years ago. The typical Colvin alive today was born around 1983, making them about 42 years old. About 700 people named Colvin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Colvin most popular?
Colvin peaked in 1899, reaching #928 nationally. Today it ranks #12008, 11,080 places below that high. See the whole 1899 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From columba to Colvin
The story of Colvin
Columba founded a monastery on Iona, a small island in the Hebrides, and it became the base from which a great deal of northern Britain was converted — the monk who went to Lindisfarne at the Northumbrian king's request came from there. Iona is also the house associated with the Book of Kells, whether it was made there or brought there ahead of Viking raids, and it is one of the most decorated manuscripts anyone has produced. The word itself is ordinary Latin: columba is a dove, and it gives columbine the flower and, by way of a family name, the man who sailed west in 1492.
Meaningscholars disagree
dove
Usually traced to Colum or Columba, Latin for a dove, with a diminutive ending — so little dove. The Irish form of the saint's name is Colm or Colum and is still given. A separate derivation from an English place name has also been proposed for the surname.
How the name formed
- columba
- Colum
- Colvin
Related forms: Colm
Pronouncing Colvin
KOL-vin
Two syllables, stress on the first. Colvin and Calvin differ by one vowel and are constantly confused, which is worth knowing in advance.
Nicknames for Colvin
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
- 1899
- Most boys named
- 200726 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #928reached in 1899
- Change vs 2023
- −44.4%5 in 2025, from 9
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.
Colvin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Colm in Irish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York.
Colvins among us
people named Colvin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 341,615 born in 2025 was named Colvin
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
Colvin 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
Colvin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Colvin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Latin meaning naming a bird everybody knows.
- Two syllables that everyone reads correctly on sight.
- A documented sixth-century figure with a surviving foundation.
- Calvin is much commoner and one vowel away, so it will be substituted constantly.
- Colin and Colvin are also close and will be confused.
- The derivation is standard rather than proven.
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Colvin
Masculine · #12008 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Colvins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Colvin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Colvin in 2025?
- Colvin ranks #12008 among US boy names in 2025, with 5 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Colvin?
- About 1 in every 341,615 US boys born in 2025 was named Colvin — 5 in all.
- Will my child share the name Colvin with classmates?
- Colvin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Colvin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Arlando#12008 · Gean#12008 · Renaldo#12008 · Elpidio#12008 · Cesare#12008 · Baldomero#12008 · Karel#12008 · Galvin#12008
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Colvin? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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