Gavin

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled กวิน in TH Thailand.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Gavin is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name34K records spelled Gavin6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Spain, South Africa

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian

  Also written Gaviñ, Gavín

• French given name11K records spelled Gavin3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, United Kingdom, South Africa

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Gavín

• a separate given name8.2K records spelled Gavin2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada

  Also written Gavín

• Indonesian given name2.9K records spelled Gavin3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Malaysia, United States, United Kingdom

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Gavín

• Danish given name2.2K records spelled Gavin7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Denmark, United States, United Kingdom, Norway

  Languages: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian

  Also written Gaviñ, Gavín

• Russian surname1.1K records spelled Gavin14 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Ukraine, United States, United Kingdom

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian

  Also written Гавин, Гавін, Гэвин, Гевін, Гевин

73 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Gavin is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, Used in Ireland; perhaps from Teutonic Gavja, ‘district’, or Welsh Gwalchmai, ‘May hawk’.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In English, from English Gawayne, French Gauvain, ultimately Welsh Gwalchmai; first attested William Walwein 1169 P (Do)

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In English, from the Arthurian name Gawain; first attested Wawanus filius Ricardi 1208 Cur (Essex)

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• This name, frequently used in Scotland, but more rarely in Ireland, may come from Teutonic Gavja, ‘district’, or from Welsh Gwalchmai, ‘May hawk’. It occurs as Gauvain in French and Gawain in English Arthurian romance.

  as a name·Irish first names

• reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic 6 Gabhain or 6 Gaibhm, both of which Woulfe derives from diminutives of gdbhadh ‘want’ or ‘danger’ (the second being the more likely meaning here).

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 111 years between 1913–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Gavin Gordonb. 1901USAmerican actor (1901–1983)
• Gavin Hoodb. 1963ZASouth African filmmaker (born 1963)
• Gavin O'Connorb. 1964USAmerican film director, screenwriter, producer, playwright and actor (b. 1963)
• Gavin Rossdaleb. 1965GBBritish musician
• Gavin Newsomb. 1967US40th governor of California since 2019
• Gavin McInnesb. 1970CACanadian far-right commentator
• Gavin Williamsonb. 1976GBBritish Conservative party politician (born 1976)
• Gavin Creelb. 1976USAmerican actor and singer (1976–2024)
• Rio Ferdinandb. 1978GBnot in their usual nameEnglish association football player (born 1978)
• Gavin Schmittb. 1986CACanadian volleyball player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 926 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Gavin?

We estimate roughly 170 thousand people bear Gavin (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Gavin have the most bearers?

We estimate about 168 thousand people bear Gavin in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled gavin.

Where is Gavin most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Gavin is densest in Guyana — about 1 in 973 people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is Gavin compared with other names?

In Guyana, Gavin is the 28th most common given name of 22,162 given names recorded there.

Is Gavin a male or female name?

Gavin is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Gavin mean?

Recorded meaning: from the medieval male personal name Gauvin/Gawayne, probably from an Old Welsh name meaning ‘white hawk’