The baby name Haven combines a stylish sound with an appealing meaning.
Thanks to Bo for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
SAFE PLACE
Haven comes from the Old English word for a port, possibly related to our word have. (Because a port holds – or “has” ships.) Another theory connects haven to an old word meaning sea.
Today, though, it signals just one thing: refuge. Protection. Safety.
A place can be a haven for far more than boats, and not all havens are physical. It’s sometimes a feeling, too – “this cottage by the sea feels like a haven from real world worries.” It’s often used in combination: safe haven.
If your ancestors lived near a physical haven, then you might answer to the surname. As with any last name, a few individuals – mostly men – received Haven as a first name over the years.
ON-TREND CHOICE
While the baby name Haven has some history of use, it’s only become a mainstream possibility during the twenty-first century.
After all, this is the age of noun names steeped with meaning. Genesis and Journey, Trinity and Harmony.
The growing popularity of the name Haven speaks to other trends, too:
- It’s a place name, as in New Haven.
- Haven tends to be a concept more than a physical place today, but it retains a hint of nature name about it, just like Willow and Wren.
- We love a middle V name, and H remains a popular first initial. (H is currently ranked 11th out of 26th.) That puts Haven midway between Harper and Ava, Hadley and Grace, a compromise choice with style to spare.
BY the NUMBERS
No surprise, then, that the baby name Haven started to rise in use during the 1990s.
In 1990, it was given to 37 girls and 16 boys.
By 1996, those numbers were 206 girls and 37 boys. That’s enough to put Haven in the US Social Security Administration’s Top 1000 baby girl names list.
It climbed slowly in the rankings at first, reaching #776 in 2000 and #649 in 2010.
But then along came a celebrity birth announcement, and parents took notice.
HAVEN GARNER WARREN
In August of 2011, actor-turned-entrepreneur Jessica Alba welcomed daughter Haven, a younger sister for Honor. Alba and husband Cash Warren are also parents to son Hayes.
Not every celebrity baby name proves influential – most don’t! But the Alba-Warren kids are more visible than many, partly because Jessica’s company is family-focused, with lots of baby and kid-care products. The kids regularly appear on her Instagram, keeping their names visible to a wider audience.
As for how the couple chose the baby name Haven for their second daughter?
The story they tell explains her name perfectly. Haven was born in caul – delivered while still inside her amniotic sac.
Legend tells that Napoleon and Charlemagne share the same rare birth story, so perhaps Haven is destined for greatness.
The name spiked in usage in 2011 and the following years. As of 2021, the baby name Haven ranks #286 – the most popular ranking to date.
FAMOUS HAVENS
Besides Jessica’s daughter, you might think of New York Times bestselling author Haven Kimmel, or possibly Angelina Jolie’s brother, James Haven.
TikTok and other social media platforms are making a younger generation of Havens prominent, too.
But if we go backwards in time, there’s Haven Gillespie.
Born James Lamont Gillespie, you know his work if not his name. His most enduring composition? He’s co-author of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”
Speaking of male bearers of the name, football player Haven Moses played wide receiver in the 1960s and 70s.
More proof that the baby name Haven works well for a baby boy, as well as a girl.
MEANINGFUL and MODERN
The baby name Haven is richly meaningful, and it works on multiple levels.
It satisfies Christian parents, after something symbolizing shelter and care. And, of course, it’s far less obvious than naming your child Heaven.
But Haven suggests a universally appealing quality, one that works outside of a faith context, too.
Frills-free and stylish for a daughter, meaningful and current for a son, it’s easy to see why Haven has become a twenty-first century staple.
Would you consider the baby name Haven?
First published on May 29, 2008, this post was revised on November 8. 2011 and again on July 26, 2022.
It is interesting! 2 of my 3 children were born en caul and at the time, I never thought to name them based on their very rare births. Their names/meaning are more associated with the day they were born but we didn’t find that out until after they were named and I am fascinated by how that all worked out.
While I do like the spiritual-minus-overtly-religious sentiment of Haven, I find it a bit masculine for a little girl. Maybe it’s because my main association with the name is Angelina Jolie’s brother. I also think Haven Garner sounds way too gender neutral.
For frills-free ends-in-N girls names I prefer Maren and Arwen.
I agree about Garner – I wish she were Haven Rose or Haven Elizabeth. And oh, i do adore Maren. And Aderyn – that’s one of my new favorites. And Emblyn, too.
I like that Haven has a modern, fresh feel without sounding too, um, modern? That doesn’t really make sense, does it? I think, to me, Haven feels like a name made for the modern world but grounded in a rich foundation, whereas something like Kiley feels more modern, without that grounding. I like a girl’s name that isn’t high on frills, but I agree with some of you that this one has a masculine edge. Honor, too, isn’t particularly frilly. But, I just met a girl named Chandler, and that’s got a masculine edge. Doesn’t feel out of place to me, honestly. Overall, I like the choice of Haven. Maven or Aven are interesting word-y names, too…
In addition to wondering what two-syllable, unusual H name Alba and Warren will choose if they have a third child, I’m really perplexed about what middle name they’ll use! Since Honor’s middle (Marie) is Jessica’s and Haven’s middle (Garner) is Cash’s, I guess they’ll have to go up the family tree for more options.
I wasn’t particularly fussed about the name when first announced by Alba, but it certainly works well for her, even if it does corner her should a third come along. My big issue with the name is that it’s the name of a budget holiday park/camp place here in the UK. Speaking of similar names, the hugely popular comedian over here is Michael McIntyre, whose middle name is the intriguing Hazen.
I think Hazen has popped up in Names4Real’s birth announcement posts a few times – it is intriguing!
I must be honest, I’m not partial to these reruns of names already covered when there’s so many new names out there to be explored. I know you’re trying to keep things up to date but that’s my two cents. : )
Cash Warren also attended Yale (graduated with Eric Johnson, Jessica Simpson’s fianc
I’ve never actually seen the show, but Haven makes me think of Haven, Maine, the setting for the Stephen King inspired series “Haven”. The trailers looked spooky, so now the word Haven has a spooky association in my mind.
I hadn’t read the story by Jessica Alba’s second daughter’s name — fascinating! It makes me wonder whether I’d change my name selections if I had a child born in their caul: Would I choose something that signifies security, or go with something water-themed since being born in a caul is traditionally supposed to protect against drowning. Hmmm. . .
That’s interesting, Charlotte – I hadn’t heard of the series. And I wonder that, too – if the circumstances of a child’s birth could be so dramatic that they’d change my mind. I imagine they could, but maybe only in the middle spot. I tend to have names chosen so far in advance …
I find it a bit masculine, too. I think it’s paired well with “Honor”, but I’m not over the moon over either name.
I know a rather troubled young woman named Haven, so that colors my impression of the name. I don’t like calling a name a “stripper name”, but since that’s her profession…
I like this as a surprise middle. It would be a pretty cool option for a teen that didn’t like their first name.
Am I the only one feeling the masculine side of this name?
I actually know a 4 year old Haven. Male. 🙂 Threw me off a bit at first, as I hadn’t heard it at all before and I thought “girl”, but I can understand- it does sound a lot like Hayden, which goes both ways.
If not for how popular Haven is becoming for girls, I’d think Haven was perfectly gender neutral. Actually, I take that back – I do think Haven is perfectly gender neutral. I do not know if a boy called Haven will appreciate that logic until he is past the middle school years.
This name now sounds ready for greatness, and if it becomes popular, can see it spawning host of variants, such as Aven, Avan, Hayvyn etc.
The more I see Haven, the more I really like it! But I can see Haven yelling someone her name and they think she’s saying “heaven” with a southern accent.
Also, a side note on Jessica Alba’s Haven’s big sis. When I first heard the name “Honor” on Gilmore Girls, I thought they were saying Anna with a British accent. Always something to think about when choosing a name…
I went to high school with a boy named Haven. He was born in 1983, and that was the first time I ever heard the name. Fast forward to about 10 years later, and I start to notice a small crop of baby girl Havens. I must say, I do think its appealing in a GP sort of way. I suppose I understand why parents are using it on their little girls.