Gavin

Boy name variations

Family name origins & meanings

• Irish : reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Gábháin or Ó Gáibhín, both of which Woulfe derives from diminutives of gábhadh ‘want’ or ‘danger’ (the second being the more likely meaning here).
• Scottish : reduced form of McGavin, which is believed to be an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Gobhann ‘son of the smith’.
• Scottish and northern English : from a personal name popular in the Middle Ages in the Middle English form Gawayne as well as the Old French Gauvin. The name was introduced from French versions of the Arthurian romances, where this name was borne by one of the knights of the Round Table, the brother of Galahad and Mordred and a nephew of Arthur. It is probably from an Old Welsh personal name composed of the elements gwalch ‘hawk’ + gwyn ‘white’, influenced in part by Breton forms.
• French and Swiss French : possibly a nickname for someone with a goiter or prominent Adam’s apple, from a word meaning ‘throat’, ‘crop’.
• In some cases possibly Castilianized form of Aragonese Gabín, a habitational name from Gabín, a place in Uesca province, Aragon.

Famous people with this first name

Popularity

According to Social Security Administration data, Gavin has been rapidly decreasing in popularity since falling out of the top 100 in 2017. Despite the rapid decline, Gavin still remains in the top 150.

However, it is the 37th most popular name on FamilyEducation.com.

According to Google search data analysis, in the last five years Gavin was at its peak popularity in July 2016.

Gavin, which has recently surpassed Kevin, invokes images of singers Gavin Rossdale and Gavin DeGraw. It has also been chosen for some fictional character names, appearing in the De Granville trilogy, Degrassi: The Next Generation, and The Californians.

Where is it Popular?

Gavin was searched for most often in the following states:

Nicknames for Gavin

• Gav

Pairs well with these middle names