Given name & surname
Galvin
“resembling a sparrow”
Galvin is used as a given name and a surname. One Irish interpretation is “resembling a sparrow.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Irish interpretation is “resembling a sparrow.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Irish.
How it developed
From Irish Ó Gealbháin (“descendant of Gealbhán”), from French Galvin, from Old French galer (“to enjoy oneself”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1917. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Galvin through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 911
- 911 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2008
- 25 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #12,649 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −40%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 12,649 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 40.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 25 in 2008. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 701 as a first name in 2020; 11,565 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Galvin’s family of names
Galvin has a related form in Gallvan. Galvin has a related form in Gallven. Galvin has a related form in Gallvin.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Gallivanvariant · English
- Gallvanvariant
- Gallvenvariant
- Gallvunvariant
- Gallvonvariant
- Gallvynvariant
- Gallvinvariant
- Galvunvariant
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