# Marvin (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/marvin/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Welsh |
| Meaning | “mervyn”, “marrow”, “eminent” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmɑɹ.vɪn/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Marv, Marvie |
| Variant spellings | Mervin, Mervine, Mirfin |
| US babies named this | 255,807 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 254,192 / 1,615 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 665, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

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

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 9 | 7,253 |
| 1983 | 11 | 6,059 |
| 1984 | 12 | 5,748 |
| 1985 | 15 | 5,001 |
| 1986 | 9 | 7,505 |
| 1987 | 18 | 4,602 |
| 1988 | 15 | 5,495 |
| 1989 | 5 | 13,731 |
| 1990 | 7 | 10,941 |
| 1991 | 5 | 14,539 |
| 1992 | 5 | 14,670 |
| 1993 | 9 | 9,232 |
| 1994 | 6 | 12,811 |
| 2004 | 5 | 17,848 |
| 2019 | 5 | 17,141 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 578 | 465 |
| 2012 | 581 | 471 |
| 2013 | 550 | 498 |
| 2014 | 572 | 493 |
| 2015 | 522 | 548 |
| 2016 | 534 | 542 |
| 2017 | 487 | 560 |
| 2018 | 482 | 574 |
| 2019 | 477 | 584 |
| 2020 | 451 | 607 |
| 2021 | 450 | 619 |
| 2022 | 457 | 612 |
| 2023 | 433 | 637 |
| 2024 | 409 | 672 |
| 2025 | 385 | 699 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 24 | 1,087 |
| 2012 | 18 | 1,367 |
| 2013 | 25 | 1,063 |
| 2014 | 23 | 1,144 |
| 2015 | 25 | 1,095 |
| 2016 | 26 | 1,081 |
| 2017 | 16 | 1,546 |
| 2018 | 25 | 1,097 |
| 2019 | 23 | 1,152 |
| 2020 | 23 | 1,150 |
| 2021 | 21 | 1,250 |
| 2022 | 16 | 1,534 |
| 2023 | 10 | 2,160 |
| 2024 | 17 | 1,517 |
| 2025 | 21 | 1,307 |

## People named Marvin

- Marvin Gaye, American R&B and soul singer (1939–1984)
- Marvin Minsky, American cognitive scientist (1927-2016)
- Marvin Plattenhardt, German association football player (born 1992)
- Marvin Hamlisch, American composer and conductor (1944-2012)
- Marvin Harris, American anthropologist (1927-2001)
- Marvin Martin, French footballer (born 1988)
- Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American boxer (1954–2021)
- Marvin Compper, German footballer
- Marvin Heemeyer, American news figure (1951–2004)
- Marvin Ogunjimi, Belgian association football player
- Marvin Williams, American basketball player (born 1986)
- Marvin Friedrich, German footballer

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.