Maven
Masculine · “one who understands”
Maven is given to both — 512 boys and 1,283 girls since 1880. See Maven as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Maven is an English word borrowed from Yiddish, which borrowed it from Hebrew — a person who understands, an expert by knowledge rather than title. It entered English advertising in the 1960s.
How old is the name Maven?
Maven first appears in US birth records in 2001 — 24 years ago. The typical Maven is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 500 people named Maven are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Maven most popular?
Maven peaked in 2023, reaching #2693 nationally. Today it ranks #3513, 820 places below that high. See the whole 2023 chart.
Where it comes from
From mevin to Maven
The story of Maven
Mevin is the present participle of a Hebrew verb meaning to understand, and Yiddish took it as meyvn for someone who genuinely knows a subject. American English borrowed it from Yiddish in the 1960s, when a herring company built an advertising campaign around the word, and it has been an ordinary English noun ever since. Its use as a given name is very recent and is given to girls and boys alike.
Meaning
one who understands, an expert
From Hebrew mevin, one who understands, through Yiddish meyvn; English took the word in the twentieth century, most visibly through an advertising campaign for pickled herring, and it has been in the dictionary since.
How the name formed
- mevin
- meyvn
- maven
Related forms: Meyvn · Mevin
Pronouncing Maven
MAY-ven
Two syllables, first stressed. There is no variation in English.
Nicknames for Maven
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
- 2001
- Most boys named
- 202348 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2693reached in 2023
- Change vs 2024
- −13.5%32 in 2025, from 37
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.
Maven in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Meyvn in Yiddish — related form
- Mevin in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Mavens among us
people named Maven are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 53,377 born in 2025 was named Maven
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Belal test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Maven's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Belal climbed just as high around 1990, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Belal's path sketches the road Maven is walking now.
Maven 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 Maven is headed
Maven looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 34% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Maven beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Maven in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning with a documented and rather entertaining route into English.
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- It works for a girl or a boy, which is useful before a birth.
- It describes an expertise the child has not acquired yet.
- Maverick is close in sound and far more common, so the two will be confused.
- It is used for both sexes, so forms will sometimes guess wrong.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Maven to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Maven
Masculine · #3513 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mavens are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Maven are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Maven in 2025?
- Maven ranks #3513 among US boy names in 2025, with 32 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Maven?
- About 1 in every 53,377 US boys born in 2025 was named Maven — 32 in all.
- Will my child share the name Maven with classmates?
- Maven will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Maven
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Bradford#3513 · Denton#3513 · Harden#3513 · Geronimo#3513 · Breon#3513 · Hashem#3513 · Jamere#3513 · Leslie#3513
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Maven? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Maven and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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