Given name & surname · also Gaelic
Kevin
“a beloved and handsome man”
Kevin is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “a beloved and handsome man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “a beloved and handsome man.”
Where it comes from
Kevin comes from Irish, and ultimately from Old Irish.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
This form developed as an English adaptation of a name used in another language.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1912. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kevin through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,189,844
- 1,184,507 boys · 5,337 girls
- Most popular year
- 1963
- 30,734 babies
- 2025
- 1,628
- #221 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −42%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,628 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 221 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 42.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 30,613 in 1963. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (217). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,015,227 as a first name in 2020; 707 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.
Kevin’s family of names
In English usage, Kevin has a diminutive in KEV. Kevin has a feminine form in Kevina. In French usage, Kevin has a related form in Keven.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Kevin has relatives in 21 languages. Lines run from its Irish roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 22
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 29
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Kevin
- Kevin CostnerAmerican actorborn 1955
- Kevin Rudd26th Prime Minister of Australiaborn 1957
- Kevin De BruyneBelgian association football player (born 1991)
- Kevin SpaceyAmerican actorborn 1959
- Kevin DurantAmerican basketball player (born 1988)
- Kevin BaconAmerican actor (born 1958)
- Kevin KlineAmerican actor (born 1947)
- Kevin HartAmerican comedian and actor (born 1979)
- Kevin SmithAmerican filmmaker (born 1970)
Characters named Kevin: Ka-Zar (Marvel Comics), Kevin Bernard (the TV series Law & Order), Agent K (the Men in Black franchise).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Kevin, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Brian
“noble” · “of noble birth”
>99% boys
Barry
“a fair-haired man”
>99% boys
Neil
“the champion”
>99% boys
Gregor
“watchful” · “one who is vigilant; watch-”
>99% boys
Colmán
“dove”
>99% boys
Conchúr
“hound” · “desiring”
>99% boys
Kieran
“having dark features; the little dark one”
97% boys · 3% girls
Caradoc
“one who is much loved”
>99% boys