Gavin Name Meaning

A handsome pick derived from the medieval Gawain, Gavin spiked in popularity in the 2000s before settling into sweet-spot territory. This familiarity protects him from spelling and pronunciation issues, making him an attractive choice to many.

Gavin is a polished pick with a handsome meaning of “little white falcon.” He has vintage roots with a modern sound, wearing well on the journey to adulthood. While he’s certainly mature, he’s also boyish, carrying just enough spunk for childhood adventures.

We’re loving on Gavin as an alternative to more popular names like Liam and Oliver, as he packs the same splash of across-the-pond style without appearing on every playground. Generally, G names for boys aren’t super common either, so he’ll have a unique sound as well.

Gavin’s form of Gawain appeared in Arthurian Legend as King Arthur’s nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. He’s seen as a courageous warrior with hidden compassion in the tale, a lovely association for any name. Perhaps Gavin is the perfect name for your little knight in shining armor?

When Gavin’s not busy slaying imaginary dragons, he can be found planning new adventures. He’s a natural-born leader, always the first to take the reins in a situation. He draws on his charisma to lead the way and doesn’t mind speaking up as needed.

Infographic of Gavin name meaning, which is A Welsh name, Gavin means little white falcon.
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Gavin Name Popularity

How popular is the name Gavin? Here’s everything we know.

Year Rank # Births % Births
1910 0 0%
1911 0 0%
1912 0 0%
1913 0 0%
1914 0 0%
1915 0 0%
1916 0 0%
1917 0 0%
1918 0 0%
1919 0 0%
1920 0 0%
1921 0 0%
1922 0 0%
1923 0 0%
1924 0 0%
1925 0 0%
1926 0 0%
1927 0 0%
1928 0 0%
1929 0 0%
1930 0 0%
1931 0 0%
1932 0 0%
1933 0 0%
1934 0 0%
1935 0 0%
1936 0 0%
1937 0 0%
1938 0 0%
1939 0 0%
1940 1,359 5 0.0005%
1941 0 0%
1942 0 0%
1943 0 0%
1944 0 0%
1945 0 0%
1946 1,379 5 0.0003%
1947 1,366 6 0.0004%
1948 1,468 5 0.0003%
1949 0 0%
1950 0 0%
1951 0 0%
1952 1,275 8 0.0005%
1953 1,105 14 0.0008%
1954 865 34 0.0019%
1955 1,023 21 0.0011%
1956 908 31 0.0016%
1957 1,191 12 0.0006%
1958 953 27 0.0014%
1959 1,033 22 0.0012%
1960 791 52 0.0027%
1961 770 56 0.003%
1962 661 88 0.0048%
1963 655 99 0.0055%
1964 673 87 0.0049%
1965 603 116 0.0071%
1966 658 81 0.0052%
1967 609 107 0.0071%
1968 586 123 0.0082%
1969 549 159 0.0103%
1970 587 144 0.009%
1971 561 161 0.0107%
1972 632 112 0.0082%
1973 510 186 0.0143%
1974 491 219 0.0168%
1975 521 192 0.0149%
1976 441 262 0.0203%
1977 488 231 0.0171%
1978 418 307 0.0228%
1979 464 265 0.0188%
1980 467 284 0.0194%
1981 357 452 0.0307%
1982 365 440 0.0294%
1983 286 677 0.0459%
1984 352 483 0.0325%
1985 360 469 0.0309%
1986 350 503 0.0333%
1987 325 599 0.0393%
1988 364 520 0.0334%
1989 353 601 0.0372%
1990 292 832 0.0502%
1991 297 830 0.0509%
1992 264 1,041 0.0652%
1993 292 918 0.0589%
1994 254 1,104 0.0719%
1995 243 1,175 0.078%
1996 190 1,623 0.1084%
1997 136 2,749 0.1859%
1998 115 3,193 0.2133%
1999 101 3,654 0.244%
2000 85 4,684 0.3066%
2001 78 5,257 0.3489%
2002 61 6,951 0.4638%
2003 51 8,762 0.5759%
2004 52 8,604 0.5645%
2005 47 9,337 0.6107%
2006 38 10,477 0.6691%
2007 32 11,859 0.7516%
2008 30 11,743 0.7598%
2009 33 10,737 0.7184%
2010 38 9,616 0.6673%
2011 37 9,009 0.6323%
2012 40 8,252 0.5791%
2013 49 7,418 0.521%
2014 61 6,614 0.454%
2015 70 5,777 0.397%
2016 80 4,926 0.3417%
2017 96 4,134 0.2962%
2018 111 3,439 0.2503%
2019 126 2,995 0.2212%
2020 142 2,483 0.1951%
2021 174 2,190 0.1792%
2022 206 1,777 0.1347%

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Kentucky (KY)

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Maine (ME)

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Wyoming (WY)

Data via SSA.gov.


Names Like Gavin

If you like Gavin, you’ll love these other names like Gavin.


What names are diminutives of Gavin?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Gavin sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Gavin, but shorter.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Vin

Prevailing

Latin

Vinnie

Little bald one; prevailing

Latin

Vinny

Prevailing

Latin


What names are variants of Gavin?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Gavin.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Gavan

White falcon; little falcon

Welsh

Gaven

White falcon; little falcon

Welsh

Gavino

White falcon; little falcon

Welsh

Gavyn

White falcon; little falcon

Welsh

Gavynn

White falcon; little falcon

Welsh

Gawain

White falcon; little falcon

Welsh

Gawaine

White falcon; little falcon

Welsh

Gawayn

White falcon; little falcon

Welsh

Gawayne

White falcon; little falcon

Welsh

Gwayn

White falcon; little falcon

Welsh

Gwayne

White hawk

Welsh


What names sound like Gavin?

If you like how Gavin sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Gavin.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Cavan

Handsome

Irish

Daven

Beloved

Hebrew

Davin

Beloved

Welsh

Devin

From dark-haired ones

Irish

Devon

Deep valley dweller

English

Evan

God is gracious

Welsh

Gavriel

God's able-bodied one; hero of God

Hebrew

Kavan

Handsome

Irish

Kevin

Handsome

Irish


What names are similar to Gavin?

Find a name that’s like Gavin, but just a little bit different.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Angus

One choice

Celtic

Bradley

Broad meadow

English

Dylan

Great tide

Welsh

Elliot

My God is Yahweh

English

Ian

God is gracious

Scottish

Liam

Helmet of will

Irish

Owen

Noble born

Welsh

Riley

Rye clearing

Irish

Sean

God is gracious

Irish

Weston

West town

English


Lists With Gavin

Find inspiration in these baby boy name lists featuring the name Gavin.


Siblings of Gavin

Mamas with kids named Gavin also have kids with these names.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Maddox

Son of Madoc

Welsh

Mikaela

Who resembles God?

Hebrew

Bella

Beautiful one

Italian

20 Comments

  1. I love it to

    • uh gavin are u in 4th grade in ms lanes class

  2. This is for my daughter Melody. She and her husband Ralfy Chose Gavin for his dear grandfather.

  3. Gavin is named after my brother in law, Gary.

  4. We wanted a name that you don’t hear everyday but also isn’t too out there, especially spelling wise. Gavin has English descent and my father-in-law was born in England, so I like that it is tied to my husband’s heritage as well. His nickname is “Gav”…and a YouTube channel (The Slow Mo Guys) might have pointed us towards Gav/Gavin because we enjoy watching those videos and I’ve of the creators is Gav, short for Gavin.

  5. Love the name Gavin. Sounds strong and masculine.

  6. Gavin is a fantastic nephew

  7. I just love the name Gavin when I had it pick out when I had my daughter and it just stay with me when I find out I was having a boy

  8. We liked the name, but saw that it’s meaning was God send. We had 5 miscarriages prior to Gavin and we truly felt he was a God send!

    *we do not like Gavin newsom so that was a little bit of something we had to get over.

    • How you lose 5 ?

      • damn gavin direct

  9. I love the name Gavin. The name is strong and masculine. It fits my little boy very well.

    • All gavins secretly hate the name gavin, its just a natural thing

  10. His Dad named him

    • Thank goodness, thought it was the mother who named him.

  11. We have British Isles heritage so have stuck with names of that origin. Our two older ones are Morgan and Caitlin, so Gavin seemed to fit right in. Plus, my husband loves the fact that it means little hawk or battle hawk and is a variation of Gawain, which was the name of one of the Knights of the Round Table.

  12. My husband and I had names picked out before we even tried for our babies. My husband ever since he was a kid loved the name Gavin for a boy and said if he ever had kids he’d like his sons name to be Gavin and I just fell in love with the name as soon as I heard it and the story behind it!!! So it was just meant to be!

  13. My father passed away when I was 2 years old and his name was Greg. We knew that we wanted a “G” name to honor my father. We fell in love with the name Gavin. We then learned that Gavin means hawk, which just happens to be my family’s symbol for my dad. It is the perfect name. He has his own name and identity, yet it perfectly honors my dad. Two weeks after he was born, we came home from a pediatrician appointment (he had weight gaining issues) and saw a huge hawk sitting on our fence. We had never seen one in our neighborhood before.

    As an addition to Gavin’s story, we found out that we were have a boy about an hour before we learned that my paternal grandfather passed. Several months later, Gavin was born on my grandfather’s birthday. It would have been his 90th birthday.

    Sorry for sharing so much, but his story is my favorite.

    The only “issue” with the name Gavin is that older generations think you are saying “Kevin.” But I love that it is unique (not on the top 100 list), but not so far out there.

    • Thats all a lie and I’m the one who put the hawk in the fence?

  14. Masculine but has a soft edge. Not too popular but not too wierd


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