Severin
Masculine · “stern”
Severin is the Latin Severinus wearing German and Scandinavian dress, and it belongs to a family of Roman names built on a word for strictness. Its American peak is 1908, in the middle of the great German, Austrian and Scandinavian migration, and the name arrived here with those families rather than through any English-language tradition.
How old is the name Severin?
Severin first appears in US birth records in 1908 — 117 years ago. The typical Severin alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 700 people named Severin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Severin most popular?
Severin peaked in 1908, reaching #1373 nationally. Today it ranks #5861, 4,488 places below that high. See the whole 1908 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From severus to Severin
The story of Severin
Saint Severinus of Noricum, who died in 482, was a missionary in what is now Austria and Bavaria in the years when Roman authority there was collapsing; he is the patron of Austria and of Bavaria, and his cult made the name a standard one across the German-speaking Alps. A second Severinus, bishop of Cologne, gave the name a Rhineland foothold, and the church of Sankt Severin in Cologne still carries it. From Germany the name spread into Scandinavia, where Severin and Soren became common. American records show it in the upper Midwest and in the German-settled parts of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, peaking in the first decade of the twentieth century.
Meaning
stern, serious
Latin severus means grave, strict and unadorned — the sense is closer to austere than to harsh. It gives the Roman family name Severus, borne by an emperor, and the derivative Severinus, which is the form that became a saint's name. English inherits the adjective directly as severe. The derivation is settled and the name has never had a competing reading.
How the name formed
- severus
- Severinus
- Severin
Related forms: Severin · Severin · Severin · Severino · Soren
Pronouncing Severin
SEV-uh-rin
Three syllables, stress on the first in English and in German. French puts it at the end, say-vay-RAN, with a nasal final vowel. Norwegian uses the German pattern. The English reading is the one most Americans will produce on sight.
Nicknames for Severin
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
- 1908
- Most boys named
- 201428 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1373reached in 1908
- Change vs 2023
- +36.4%15 in 2025, from 11
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.
Severin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Severin in German — same name
- Severin in Norwegian — same name
- Severin in French — same name
- Severino in Italian — related form
- Soren in Danish — related form
Severins among us
people named Severin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 113,872 born in 2025 was named Severin
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
Severin 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
Severin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Severin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled and connects to an ordinary English word.
- Sev is a short, distinctly modern-sounding nickname.
- It has documented saints and an emperor behind it in three different countries.
- The stress falls differently in English, German and French.
- The adjective severe is the first association for English speakers, which is a heavier word than the Latin one.
- It is rare in the United States and will be spelled out routinely.
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Severin
Masculine · #5861 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Severins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Severin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Severin in 2025?
- Severin ranks #5861 among US boy names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Severin?
- About 1 in every 113,872 US boys born in 2025 was named Severin — 15 in all.
- Will my child share the name Severin with classmates?
- Severin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Severin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eber#5861 · Wilton#5861 · Ruby#5861 · Stacy#5861 · Garner#5861 · Caldwell#5861 · Sebastiano#5861 · Newton#5861
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Severin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Severin and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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