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The surname Galvin

A French patronymic surname, carried by 11,882 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex G415

Galvin: #3,018 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Galvin #3,018, 11,882 people Galvin: #3,018 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Galvin #3,018, 11,882 people
Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Galvin is more common than 98.1% of them.

Origin

French origin

Two main origins: * Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Gealbháin (“descendant of Gealbhán”), a personal name composed of the elements geal (“bright”) and bán (“white”). * Borrowed from French Galvin, either a variant of Gauvain or a nickname for a drunkard, from Old French galer (“to enjoy oneself”).

Galvin is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 791 French surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 11,882 people named Galvin in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 25,984 Americans. That is up 3.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 11,499.

#3,018
rank among US surnames
11,882
people in 2010
4.0
per 100,000 Americans
+3.3%
change since 2000 (was #2,870)
RankSurnamePeople1 in
#3,010Cotter11,90425,936
#3,011New11,90325,938
#3,012Fontaine11,90125,943
#3,014Edgar11,89525,956
#3,015Forman11,89425,958
#3,016Hannon11,89325,960
#3,017Reedy11,88425,980

Who is named Galvin

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

85% of people named Galvin identified as white (not Hispanic), 8.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 4.3% as Black (not Hispanic).

  • White (not Hispanic) 85%
  • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 8.0%
  • Black (not Hispanic) 4.3%
  • Two or more races 1.6%
  • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.9%
  • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Galvins

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

  • Noah Galvin
    American actor and singer (born 1994)
  • Anna Galvin
    Australian actress, born 1969
  • Pud Galvin
    American baseball player (1856–1902)
  • Bob Galvin
    American businessman (1922–2011)

Notable Galvins come mostly from the United States (3) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Surnames that sound like Galvin

Galvin has the Soundex code G415, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G415.

Other French surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Galvin come from?
Two main origins: * Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Gealbháin (“descendant of Gealbhán”), a personal name composed of the elements geal (“bright”) and bán (“white”). * Borrowed from French Galvin, either a variant of Gauvain or a nickname for a drunkard, from Old French galer (“to enjoy…
How common is the surname Galvin?
11,882 people in the United States had the surname Galvin in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 25,984 Americans. It ranked 3,018th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Galvin?
In the 2010 Census, 85% of people named Galvin identified as white (not Hispanic), and 8.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Galvin?
Noah Galvin, American actor and singer (born 1994), followed by Anna Galvin.
Where is the surname Galvin most common?
Wikidata records people named Galvin in the United States and Australia.
What type of surname is Galvin?
Galvin is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Galvin getting more or less common?
More common. 11,499 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 11,882 in 2010, up 3.3%.
What are other spellings of Galvin?
Gallivan.