Kaven
Masculine · “gentle”
Kaven is a Quebec spelling of Kevin, and the Irish name behind it means gentle birth — a compound about being well-born in temperament.
How old is the name Kaven?
Kaven first appears in US birth records in 1951 — 74 years ago. The typical Kaven alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 900 people named Kaven are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kaven most popular?
Kaven peaked in 1968, reaching #2576 nationally. Today it ranks #4396, 1,820 places below that high. See the whole 1968 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From caomh to Kaven
The story of Kaven
Kevin of Glendalough founded a monastery in a Wicklow valley and the legends about him are unusually gentle — the best-known has him standing so long in prayer with an outstretched hand that a blackbird nests in it, and he waits until the chicks fledge. Quebec took Kevin up heavily in the 1980s and spelled it several ways, Kaven among them. It appears in American records with Quebec families.
Meaning
gentle, handsome birth
From Irish Caoimhín, on caomh, gentle, kind or handsome, with a diminutive; the name belonged to the sixth-century founder of Glendalough. Quebec French spells it Kaven, following its own phonics.
How the name formed
- caomh
- Caoimhín
- Kevin
- Kaven
Related forms: Caoimhín · Kevin · Kévin
Pronouncing Kaven
KAY-ven
Two syllables, first stressed. Quebec French gives kah-VEN.
Nicknames for Kaven
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
- 1951
- Most boys named
- 201344 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2576reached in 1968
- Change vs 2024
- +21.1%23 in 2025, from 19
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.
Kaven in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Caoimhín in Irish — same name
- Kevin in English — same name
- Kévin in French — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee.
Kavens among us
people named Kaven are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 74,264 born in 2025 was named Kaven
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Kaven
- #4396
- Kaven on the 2025 chart
- #898
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Kaven went to 23 boys in 2025, but Caven is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 30, which makes it the 898th most-given boys’ name of the year — 3,498 places above the chart.
- Kaven23
- Caven7
About 1 boy in 56,936 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 74,264 for Kaven itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Chilton test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kaven's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Chilton climbed just as high around 1945, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Chilton's path sketches the road Kaven is walking now.
Kaven 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
Kaven beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kaven in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Irish meaning with a genuinely charming legend behind it.
- Kevin stands behind it as the internationally recognized form.
- Five letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- Kevin is the standard spelling and will be assumed and written.
- The stress differs between the Quebec and American readings.
- Kaven, Kavin and Kevin are all in use and only Kevin is common.
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Kaven
Masculine · #4396 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kavens 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 Kaven are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Kaven?
- Kaven is the most-used spelling in US records — 23 of the 30 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Caven.
- How popular is the name Kaven in 2025?
- Kaven ranks #4396 among US boy names in 2025, with 23 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kaven?
- About 1 in every 74,264 US boys born in 2025 was named Kaven — 23 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kaven with classmates?
- Kaven will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kaven
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Odell#4396 · Corwin#4396 · Tennyson#4396 · Marques#4396 · Manu#4396 · Omid#4396 · Zackariah#4396 · Burton#4396
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kaven? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kaven and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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