Marvin

Boy · Welsh, possibly

Marvin

Say it: MAR-vin

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Uncertain. Probably a form of Welsh Merfyn or of Mervyn; no settled meaning.

Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.

Popular in the US from the 1880s to the 1950s.

Its wave through time

Fading since the 1930s

In the United States

024618801900192019401960198020002020Peak 1931per 1,000 babies of that sex
  • 253,602 babies given this name since 1880
  • At its height in 1931, about 1 in 239 boys
  • 448 babies in 2020

Through the ages

  1. Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
  2. The Modern Age1880 to today

Used by

AmericanEnglish

Famous bearers

  • Marvin Gaye, American singer

Names worth a look

Where this comes from

  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
  • National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.