Levin
Masculine · “dear friend”
Levin is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 1,693 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
Levin is two names at one spelling. One is German, from a Saxon saint whose name means dear friend. The other is Jewish, built on Levi. They have been sharing the spelling in America for a century and a half.
How old is the name Levin?
Levin first appears in US birth records in 1889 — 136 years ago. The typical Levin alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 1,400 people named Levin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Levin most popular?
Levin peaked in 1889, reaching #878 nationally. Today it ranks #2991, 2,113 places below that high. See the whole 1889 chart.
Where it comes from
From Liafwin to Levin
The story of Levin
Lebuin was an English missionary in the Low Countries and Saxony, and his name survived in German and Dutch as Lebuin, Liévin and Levin — the Flemish city of Leuven is named for a different word but the saint's name spread along the same routes. Separately, Levin and Levine became common Ashkenazi surnames from Levi, and reached America in large numbers with Eastern European Jewish emigration. The American record for Levin as a given name sits mostly in the German-American nineteenth century.
Meaningscholars disagree
dear friend — in German; or of Levi — in Jewish use
German Levin comes from Lebuin or Liafwin, the name of an eighth-century missionary to the Saxons, built on Old Saxon liof, 'dear, beloved', and wini, 'friend'. That reading is documented. The Ashkenazi Levin is a surname from Levi, whose own meaning is given in Genesis as 'joined' or 'attached'. Two unrelated names, one spelling, and the record does not distinguish them.
How the name formed
- Liafwin
- Lebuin
- Levin
Related forms: Levin · Lieven · Levi
Pronouncing Levin
LEH-vin
Two syllables, stress on the first. German says LAY-vin with a longer first vowel; the Jewish surname is often LEV-in or luh-VEEN depending on the family. All three are heard.
Nicknames for Levin
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
- 1889
- Most boys named
- 201651 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #878reached in 1889
- Change vs 2023
- −8.9%41 in 2025, from 45
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.
Levin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Levin in German — same name
- Lieven in Dutch — related form
- Levi in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Virginia.
Levins among us
people named Levin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 41,660 born in 2025 was named Levin
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Levin
- #2991
- Levin on the 2025 chart
- #879
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Levin went to 41 boys in 2025, but Levyn is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 49, which makes it the 879th most-given boys’ name of the year — 2,112 places above the chart.
- Levin41
- Levyn8
About 1 boy in 34,859 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 41,660 for Levin 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
Fashion outlook
Levin 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
Where Levin is headed
Levin should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Levin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Levin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two documented ancestries, both of them substantial and both quite different.
- Lev is a ready short form and a complete name in its own right elsewhere.
- Five letters, no silent ones, and easy for English speakers at first sight.
- Its meaning depends entirely on which of two unrelated traditions the family means.
- It is far more common as a surname than a first name and will be read as one.
- Levin, Levine and Lieven all circulate and belong to different communities.
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What they receive
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Levin
Masculine · #2991 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Levins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Levin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Levin?
- Levin is the most-used spelling in US records — 41 of the 49 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Levyn.
- How popular is the name Levin in 2025?
- Levin ranks #2991 among US boy names in 2025, with 41 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Levin?
- About 1 in every 41,660 US boys born in 2025 was named Levin — 41 in all.
- Will my child share the name Levin with classmates?
- Levin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Levin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Roran#2991 · Izaak#2991 · Nyle#2991 · Tilden#2991 · Hanson#2991 · Breck#2991 · Kevon#2991 · Oswaldo#2991
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Levin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Levin and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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