Norval
Masculine
My name is Norval was, for a century and a half, the most recited line in English-speaking schoolrooms. It opens a speech from a Scottish tragedy of the seventeen-fifties that every child learning elocution had to perform, and the name comes from the play rather than from anywhere real.
How old is the name Norval?
Norval was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Norval alive today was born around 1928, making them about 97 years old. About 500 people named Norval are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Norval most popular?
Norval peaked in 1887, reaching #631 nationally. See the whole 1887 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Norval
John Home's Douglas was first performed in Edinburgh and made its author briefly famous and permanently unemployable — he was a minister, and the church took a dim view of writing for the theater. The speech beginning My name is Norval, on the Grampian hills, became a standard recitation piece in Britain and America, printed in every school reader for generations, and the name went from the stage into the population by way of children who had memorised it. That is a rare and traceable route for a name to take.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The name was invented for the stage and its author left no explanation. It is built to sound Scottish, and readings assembled from Norse or Gaelic elements are later attempts to supply a source.
Pronouncing Norval
NOR-vul
Two syllables with the weight at the front, the second reduced to a hum. There is no second reading to correct.
Nicknames for Norval
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 191884 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #631reached in 1887
- Change vs 1977
- +50.0%9 in 1981, from 6
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.
Norvals among us
people named Norval are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Norval sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Both syllables are readable, so the name is said correctly at sight.
- Its origin is documented down to the play and the decade.
- Val works as a short form and stands alone as a name.
- There is no meaning, because the name was invented rather than inherited.
- It will be heard as Norvel and Norvall and written both ways.
- It reads unmistakably as a name of the nineteenth century.
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Norval
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Norvals 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 Norval are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Norval in 2025?
- Norval is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Norval with classmates?
- Norval will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More N names
The most-given names starting with N, all years combined.
Nicholas#112 · Nathan#63 · Noah#2 · Nathaniel#140 · Norman#1196 · Nolan#65 · Neil#850 · Nicolas#177
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Norval? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Norval and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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