ninan.org

Marvin

Boys' name · Early 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~124,400 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#699 among boys
Births in 2025
385 255,807 since 1880
Typical age
61 years, median

Marvin popularity over time

Marvin rank by birth year, 1880–2025Marvin ranked #184 in 1880 and #699 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #44, in 1931.#100#699best #44 in 193118901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Marvin was used most in 1928, when 4,484 babies were given the name. It is present from 1880, the first year of the record. Across the record, 51 years put Marvin in the top 100.

The 2025 position is #699, on 385 births. Over ten years the count has fallen 26%. Year on year the rank dropped by 29.

Babies named Marvin per yearPeaks at 4,484 births in 1928.4,484 in 1928018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Marvin?

About 124,400 people named Marvin are alive in the United States today. SSA has recorded 255,807 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Marvin?

Half of living Marvins are older than 61, half younger. More of them were born in the 1950s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Marvin a early 20th-century perennial name.

Your Marvin

Ages of living people named MarvinHalf of living Marvins are older than 61 and half younger.median 61020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Marvin is most common

Marvin is 2.3× as common in Maryland as it is nationally. Wisconsin, Indiana and Pennsylvania follow.

Where Marvin is used more than average5 states use the name Marvin more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: 1.8× the national rateWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: 1.6× the national rateINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: 1.6× the national ratePANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: 1.6× the national rateVAMaryland: 2.3× the national rateMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Marvin is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Maryland 144 2.3×
Wisconsin 109 1.8×
Indiana 130 1.6×
Pennsylvania 217 1.6×
Virginia 153 1.6×

Marvin in England and Wales

ONS recorded 21 births named Marvin in 2025, ranking it #1,307.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Marvin comes from

From Welsh Merfyn (“Mervyn”), probably from mer (“marrow”) + myn (“eminent”).

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Marvin

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Marvin Gaye American R&B and soul singer 1939–1984 79
Marvin Minsky American cognitive scientist 1927–2016 66
Marvin Plattenhardt German association football player 1992 41
Marvin Hamlisch American composer and conductor 1944–2012 37
Marvin Harris American anthropologist 1927–2001 34
Marvin Martin French footballer 1988 32
Marvin Compper German footballer 1985 29
Marvin Ducksch professional football player 1994 29
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 496 in 1911 to 963 in 1912 — 1.9 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Names similar to Marvin

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/marvin.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).