The baby name Gavin begins with medieval adventure, and doesn’t slow down one bit as it confidently strides into the twenty-first century.
Thanks to Emmy Jo for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
THE MEANING OF THE NAME GAVIN
The baby name Gavin started out as Gawain. We know him from tales of Camelot. But what does the name Gavin mean?
It’s a Welsh name, and it’s probably cousin to Gwalchmai. That name appears in traditional Welsh tales, and a court poet answered to Gwalchmai ap Mielyr during the 1100s.
Gwalch means hawk; the second element could refer to a field or possibly the month of May. There are other possible origins and meanings, including the name Gwalchgwyn, meaning hawk and fair.
The most likely meaning of baby name Gavin is hawk; and white hawk isn’t an impossible stretch.
SIR GAWAIN
As for Gawain, he’s among the most famous of the Arthurian knights. The 14th century tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight recounts his adventures lopping off heads, flirting with beautiful women and ultimately cheating death.
Some read it as a simple tale of derring-do, but it has been much interpreted by scholars aplenty.
The story inspired a 1978 opera and at least three film adaptations, including a 1984 version featuring Sean Connery as the Green Knight. In 2021, Dev Patel played part of Gawain in The Green Knight.
It’s a story we keep revisiting.
As for the name, Gawain became Gauvain in Chrétien de Troyes’ accounts of the Round Table. It’s a short leap from Gauvain to Gavin in English.
GABIN and GAVINO
Or maybe the name is older still.
The Roman family name Gabinus comes from Gabii, an ancient city east of Rome.
There’s a thirteenth century Saint Gabinus, from Sardinia. Legend says Gavino started out a Roman soldier, converted to Christianity, and died a martyr for his faith.
There’s no connection between Gabinus and Gavin, but Gabinus became Gabin in French and Gavino in Italian. That seems quite close to Gavin, too.
It also occurs as a surname with various possible origins and meanings, though in every case, Gavin is a slimmed-down version of a longer name.
GAVIN IN THE 19th CENTURY
Many medieval names, especially from famous stories, have been rediscovered and revived across the years.
The baby name Gavin is among them.
A handful of uses in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries include Sir Gavin de Beer, director of the British Museum of Natural History, born in 1899. JM Barrie’s novel-turned-play The Little Minister about cleric Gavin Dishart was written in 1891. (And became a movie co-starring Katharine Hepburn in 1934.)
Factor in plenty of athletes, politicians, and other notables, and the baby name Gavin must have been familiar, if uncommon, in most of the English-speaking world. It seems particularly popular in Scotland during the era.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME GAVIN?
Gawain has never been used in the US in big numbers, but the baby name Gavin charted caught on starting in the 1950s.
Actor Gavin MacLeod (born Allan George See) is one possible influence. But the name was already rising by the time MacLeod’s roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Love Boat cemented his fame in the 70s.
Instead, the baby name Gavin debuted in the US data in 1913, with five boys receiving the name. By 1954, it debuted in the US Top 1000 at #830.
It was the right moment for such names. Brian, Jason, Ryan and Brendan were all on the rise. Chances are that Gavin was just waiting to be discovered.
The baby name Gavin gained steadily, entering the US Top 500 in 1974, the Top 250 in 1995, and peaking at #30 in 2008.
At its peak, the name appeared in the Top Ten of Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. It was at least as popular elsewhere in the English-speaking world, peaking even sooner – as early as the 1970s in Scotland.
As of 2023, Gavin ranks a modest #231.
While it’s falling in use, it remains a familiar possibility, about as common as Oscar, Patrick, Grant, or Simon.
FAMOUS GAVINS
Several Gavins feature in the headlines now.
There’s Gavin Rossdale, lead singer of Bush. (And, with Gwen Stefani, parent to Kingston, Zuma, and Apollo.)
San Francisco mayor turned California governor Gavin Newsom is a familiar figure in national politics.
Dozens more come to mind, from Rooster Teeth’s Gavin Free to one of the main characters in British sitcom Gavin & Stacey.
POLISHED and STRONG
Like Evan and Colin, Gavin caught on early in the two-syllable, ends-with-N era. Combined with so much history, that’s likely why the baby name Gavin feels traditional rather than trendy.
Overall, Gavin feels like a handsome name with plenty of polish. And those roots in tales of medieval bravery lend the name plenty of strength, too.
What do you think of the baby name Gavin?
First published on March 2, 2009, this post was revised on August 11, 2024.
I looked up this name, as two out of 14 kids in my son’s preschool class are named Gavin! I had no idea it was as popular as that, maybe because I find it so boring and had never noticed its place in the rankings. There’s also a Tesla and an Urban!
I know a Gavin; he’s a sweet little boy in my church. I don’t know him well; he isn’t old enough to be in the group I work with in Vacation Bible School, but I know his older brother Logan quite well and he’s one of my favorite kids in the world, so my main association is very positive. They also have a soon-to-be-born younger brother, tentatively named Aidan, though I’m not sure about the spelling. I think Gavin lucked out and got the best name of the three. Logan sounds wimpy to me and Aidan is so overdone, but Gavin, though trendy, is charmingly medieval. I love the Gawain association.
I may also be influenced by a dear friend of mine who is absolutely in love with the name and dying to use it. Her fiance likes showy, somewhat eccentric Biblical names, like Zechariah and Ezekiel, but she’s all about the two-syllable, ends-in-n crowd, though her tastes aren’t as awful as some. I sometimes how they are ever going to come to an agreement regarding their children’s names. 😀
My apologies, Emmy Jo!
You’re absolutely right that Gawain was your suggestion, not the watered-down Gavin! (Sorry – I deleted it from the draft at some point – probably while agonizing over the Gwalchmai connection – and never put it back in!)
As for GOW in versus ga WAYN? I think you’d get ga WAYN. And, of course, the unrelated Wayne has done well in the 20th century. But you’d be fighting an uphill battle to get GOW in to catch on. Then again, Gawain is so rare maybe you’d get away with it. Because GOW in seems inspired. 🙂
Here in DC, I don’t think I’ve met a Gavin. Ever. I knew one growing up in Eastern PA, so there’s at least one 30-something Gavin out there. (Okay, more than one. Statistics and all that. And Nessa and Lola, you seem to know a bunch!)
JNE, you’re right about Gavin/Kevin. That’s probably a big part of his popularity.
Allison, I thought the EXACT SAME THING while watching that ep! I watched it in a re-run, though, so I haven’t mentioned it here. But yes, there is a Beatles connection to Astrid, but I can’t recall it … let’s make Astrid NotD on 4/16 and I’ll go find out. 🙂
Do you have Astrid on your list for NOTD? I was watching “The Office” last week and was delighted to see that was the name Jan gave her baby. Wasn’t that the name of the German photographer who was Pete Best’s girlfriend? Or was it Stuart Sutcliffe? Either way, what a cool name.