Marvin
Marvin was given to 385 boys in 2025, #699 among boys’ names; 255,807 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 117,000 Americans named Marvin and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (46% of everyone recorded); the median is 61 years old and half are between 40 and 73.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Marvin by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Marvin mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Marvin is “a male given name from Welsh.” Its etymology gives the senses “Mervyn” (Merfyn) and “marrow” (mêr) and “eminent” (myn).
From Welsh Merfyn (“Mervyn”), probably from mêr (“marrow”) + myn (“eminent”).
/ˈmɑɹ.vɪn/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Marvin?
#699 among boys’ names, 2025
Marvin fell from #548 in 2015 to #699 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.27 to 0.23 per 1,000.
4,484 babies in 1928, the peak
Marvin peaked in 1928, when 4,484 babies were given it (4,452 boys, #46 among boys’ names). The 385 births of 2025 are 9% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 385 | #699 | 0.23 |
| 2024 | 409 | #672 | 0.24 |
| 2023 | 433 | #637 | 0.25 |
| 2022 | 457 | #612 | 0.26 |
| 2021 | 450 | #619 | 0.26 |
| 2020 | 451 | #607 | 0.26 |
| 2019 | 477 | #584 | 0.27 |
| 2018 | 482 | #574 | 0.27 |
| 2017 | 487 | #560 | 0.26 |
| 2016 | 534 | #542 | 0.28 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 522 | #548 | 0.27 |
| 2014 | 572 | #493 | 0.30 |
| 2013 | 550 | #498 | 0.29 |
| 2012 | 581 | #471 | 0.31 |
| 2011 | 578 | #465 | 0.30 |
| 2010 | 636 | #431 | 0.33 |
| 2009 | 711 | #415 | 0.36 |
| 2008 | 827 | #372 | 0.41 |
| 2007 | 887 | #356 | 0.43 |
| 2006 | 897 | #344 | 0.44 |
| 2005 | 810 | #365 | 0.41 |
| 2004 | 803 | #352 | 0.40 |
| 2003 | 870 | #333 | 0.44 |
| 2002 | 802 | #341 | 0.41 |
| 2001 | 809 | #341 | 0.42 |
| 2000 | 815 | #336 | 0.41 |
| 1999 | 765 | #348 | 0.40 |
| 1998 | 840 | #323 | 0.44 |
| 1997 | 858 | #311 | 0.46 |
| 1996 | 871 | #303 | 0.46 |
| 1995 | 843 | #314 | 0.44 |
| 1994 | 978 | #278 | 0.51 |
| 1993 | 1,081 | #267 | 0.55 |
| 1992 | 1,175 | #244 | 0.59 |
| 1991 | 1,193 | #237 | 0.59 |
| 1990 | 1,216 | #237 | 0.59 |
| 1989 | 1,192 | #227 | 0.60 |
| 1988 | 1,152 | #221 | 0.60 |
| 1987 | 1,078 | #221 | 0.58 |
| 1986 | 1,138 | #212 | 0.62 |
| 1985 | 1,142 | #212 | 0.62 |
| 1984 | 1,100 | #210 | 0.61 |
| 1983 | 1,172 | #202 | 0.65 |
| 1982 | 1,135 | #214 | 0.63 |
| 1981 | 1,173 | #211 | 0.65 |
| 1980 | 1,224 | #199 | 0.69 |
| 1979 | 1,245 | #196 | 0.72 |
| 1978 | 1,200 | #196 | 0.73 |
| 1977 | 1,172 | #196 | 0.71 |
| 1976 | 1,253 | #181 | 0.80 |
| 1975 | 1,309 | #177 | 0.84 |
| 1974 | 1,486 | #163 | 0.95 |
| 1973 | 1,506 | #162 | 1.0 |
| 1972 | 1,594 | #163 | 1.0 |
| 1971 | 1,931 | #152 | 1.1 |
| 1970 | 2,036 | #153 | 1.1 |
| 1969 | 2,197 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1968 | 2,255 | #129 | 1.3 |
| 1967 | 2,426 | #124 | 1.4 |
| 1966 | 2,735 | #113 | 1.5 |
| 1965 | 2,969 | #109 | 1.6 |
| 1964 | 2,978 | #119 | 1.5 |
| 1963 | 2,974 | #120 | 1.5 |
| 1962 | 3,133 | #118 | 1.5 |
| 1961 | 3,185 | #120 | 1.5 |
| 1960 | 3,278 | #119 | 1.5 |
| 1959 | 3,167 | #123 | 1.5 |
| 1958 | 3,302 | #119 | 1.6 |
| 1957 | 3,408 | #112 | 1.6 |
| 1956 | 3,483 | #105 | 1.6 |
| 1955 | 3,659 | #94 | 1.8 |
| 1954 | 3,498 | #97 | 1.7 |
| 1953 | 3,564 | #94 | 1.8 |
| 1952 | 3,575 | #95 | 1.8 |
| 1951 | 3,557 | #96 | 1.9 |
| 1950 | 3,493 | #93 | 2.0 |
| 1949 | 3,725 | #89 | 2.1 |
| 1948 | 3,625 | #90 | 2.1 |
| 1947 | 3,773 | #89 | 2.1 |
| 1946 | 3,600 | #88 | 2.2 |
| 1945 | 3,294 | #80 | 2.4 |
| 1944 | 3,569 | #75 | 2.6 |
| 1943 | 3,939 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1942 | 3,792 | #66 | 2.7 |
| 1941 | 3,626 | #63 | 3.0 |
| 1940 | 3,502 | #63 | 3.0 |
| 1939 | 3,758 | #52 | 3.4 |
| 1938 | 3,900 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1937 | 3,913 | #49 | 3.7 |
| 1936 | 3,936 | #49 | 3.8 |
| 1935 | 4,278 | #45 | 4.1 |
| 1934 | 4,217 | #44 | 4.1 |
| 1933 | 4,132 | #44 | 4.2 |
| 1932 | 4,187 | #46 | 4.0 |
| 1931 | 4,360 | #45 | 4.2 |
| 1930 | 4,404 | #48 | 4.0 |
| 1929 | 4,389 | #46 | 4.1 |
| 1928 | 4,452 | #46 | 4.0 |
| 1927 | 4,397 | #47 | 3.9 |
| 1926 | 4,111 | #50 | 3.7 |
| 1925 | 4,092 | #51 | 3.7 |
| 1924 | 4,024 | #50 | 3.6 |
| 1923 | 3,810 | #51 | 3.5 |
| 1922 | 3,580 | #56 | 3.3 |
| 1921 | 3,490 | #59 | 3.2 |
| 1920 | 3,244 | #62 | 3.0 |
| 1919 | 2,997 | #63 | 3.1 |
| 1918 | 2,829 | #68 | 2.8 |
| 1917 | 2,517 | #68 | 2.7 |
| 1916 | 2,529 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1915 | 2,227 | #72 | 2.6 |
| 1914 | 1,627 | #75 | 2.5 |
| 1913 | 1,236 | #77 | 2.4 |
| 1912 | 958 | #83 | 2.2 |
| 1911 | 488 | #82 | 2.2 |
| 1910 | 413 | #84 | 2.1 |
| 1909 | 354 | #85 | 2.2 |
| 1908 | 311 | #87 | 2.0 |
| 1907 | 304 | #87 | 2.1 |
| 1906 | 245 | #94 | 1.8 |
| 1905 | 215 | #100 | 1.6 |
| 1904 | 203 | #104 | 1.6 |
| 1903 | 185 | #106 | 1.6 |
| 1902 | 186 | #105 | 1.5 |
| 1901 | 145 | #117 | 1.4 |
| 1900 | 176 | #130 | 1.2 |
| 1899 | 138 | #121 | 1.3 |
| 1898 | 127 | #141 | 1.0 |
| 1897 | 134 | #122 | 1.2 |
| 1896 | 93 | #175 | 0.78 |
| 1895 | 107 | #144 | 0.91 |
| 1894 | 92 | #168 | 0.79 |
| 1893 | 102 | #148 | 0.91 |
| 1892 | 88 | #180 | 0.72 |
| 1891 | 93 | #143 | 0.92 |
| 1890 | 99 | #143 | 0.89 |
| 1889 | 77 | #175 | 0.70 |
| 1888 | 90 | #167 | 0.74 |
| 1887 | 70 | #181 | 0.69 |
| 1886 | 90 | #155 | 0.81 |
| 1885 | 65 | #197 | 0.60 |
| 1884 | 73 | #190 | 0.64 |
| 1883 | 71 | #174 | 0.68 |
| 1882 | 64 | #201 | 0.56 |
| 1881 | 57 | #200 | 0.57 |
| 1880 | 69 | #184 | 0.62 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Marvin a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Marvin has been given almost only to boys: 1,615 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Marvin: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Marvin, and how old are they?
117,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 46% of the 255,807 Americans ever recorded as Marvin. The median Marvin alive today is 61 years old; half are between 40 and 73.
The 2020 Census counted 135,343 people named Marvin (470 women and girls, 134,873 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 133,373 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 13,200 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 42,800 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 25,200 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 16,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 12,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 6,170 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Marvin born?
The states with the most babies named Marvin are Texas, New York and California, with 18% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 16,418 | #784 | 1.0× |
| New York | 14,693 | #939 | 0.7× |
| California | 14,490 | #712 | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 12,343 | #988 | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 10,608 | #751 | 1.4× |
| Georgia | 10,565 | #510 | 1.5× |
| Michigan | 10,517 | #703 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 10,489 | #588 | 0.8× |
| Missouri | 8,332 | #766 | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 8,241 | #448 | 0.5× |
Where Marvin is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Marvin is most over-represented in South Dakota: since 1910 it was given 1.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Marvin with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 6 names spelled alike, given to 269,427 babies since 1880, Marvin is the most given (95% of them). In 2025 it was given to 385 of their 448 babies (86%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Marvin
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Marvin and names like it
- Compare Marvin and MervinBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sMarvin peaked in 1928.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Marvin since 1910.
- Welsh namesWiktionary’s origin for Marvin: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1928The year the most babies were named Marvin.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Marvin alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with MMost given first.