Iverson
Masculine · “son of Iver”
Iverson is given to both — 2,138 boys and 103 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Iverson began as a Scandinavian family name — Iversen, "son of Iver" — carried to America by Norwegian and Danish immigrants and turned, like Anderson and Emerson before it, into a first name. It has three unhurried syllables that land on the same familiar -son ending English speakers have known for centuries, and it opens on the long EYE sound that Ivan, Ivy and Ida share.
How old is the name Iverson?
Iverson first appears in US birth records in 1891 — 134 years ago. The typical Iverson is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,900 people named Iverson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Iverson most popular?
Iverson peaked in 1891, reaching #841 nationally. Today it ranks #1409, 568 places below that high. See the whole 1891 chart.
Iverson appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Ívarr to Iverson
The story of Iverson
Iverson is the American spelling of Iversen, one of the standard Scandinavian patronymics, formed from the personal name Iver — the Danish and Norwegian form of Old Norse Ívarr, a name borne widely across the Viking age and the medieval North. When Norwegians and Danes emigrated in large numbers during the nineteenth century, the fixed surname traveled with them and the -sen ending was commonly respelled -son in English-speaking records. From there it followed the long American habit of moving surnames to the front, the same road walked by Jackson, Harrison and Emerson. In the United States the surname is also strongly associated with basketball, through the Hall of Fame guard Allen Iverson.
Meaning
son of Iver
The patronymic sense is clear. What Iver itself meant is less so: it comes from the Old Norse name Ívarr, read either as the yew-tree element ýr joined to a word for warrior or army, or as ýr with a second element meaning guarded or watchful. Both readings are seriously argued, and neither has won.
How the name formed
- Ívarr
- Iver
- Iversen
- Iverson
Related forms: Iversen · Iversen · Ivarsson · Ívarsson · Ívarr · Ivanov
Pronouncing Iverson
EYE-ver-sun
Three syllables, stress on the first. The middle syllable is light, so it often comes out as EYE-vur-sun in ordinary speech.
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
- 1891
- Most boys named
- 2024140 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #841reached in 1891
- Change vs 2024
- −7.9%129 in 2025, from 140
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.
Iverson in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Iversen in Norwegian — spelling variant
- Iversen in Danish — spelling variant
- Ivarsson in Swedish — related form
- Ívarsson in Icelandic — related form
- Ívarr in Old Norse — related form
- Ivanov in Russian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Iversons among us
people named Iverson are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 13,241 born in 2025 was named Iverson
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
Iverson is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Iverson is headed
Iverson looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 22% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Iverson beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Iverson in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Comes with a ready short form in Iver, which is an established given name in its own right across Norway and Denmark.
- The -son ending is already familiar to American ears from Jackson, Emerson and Anderson, so the spelling is rarely a puzzle once heard.
- Documented as a family name for centuries in Scandinavia before it was ever a first name, giving it a long unbroken paper trail.
- Works in full on a form and shortened in a schoolyard, without either version sounding like a different name.
- The basketball association is strong in the US, and for many adults it will be the first thing the name calls up. That fades with time, but it is worth knowing it is there.
- Iversen with an e is the older and still standard spelling in Scandinavia, so expect occasional corrections in that direction — and the odd Iverson/Ivenson slip.
- A child with this name will very likely be the only one wherever they go. That means no last-initial in the class list, and also a lifetime of being the person who explains the name.
- nicknames", if you want one, are not fixed by tradition here — Iver is the obvious route, but you may end up choosing it yourselves rather than inheriting it.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Iverson
Masculine · #1409 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Iversons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,900 people named Iverson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Iverson in 2025?
- Iverson ranks #1409 among US boy names in 2025, with 129 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Iverson?
- About 1 in every 13,241 US boys born in 2025 was named Iverson — 129 in all.
- Will my child share the name Iverson with classmates?
- Iverson will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Iverson
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Dale#1409 · Fox#1409 · Virgil#1409 · Kolt#1409 · Linden#1409 · Huxton#1409 · Malikai#1409 · Cayde#1409
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Iverson? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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