Given name & surname
Marvin
“a friend of the sea”
Marvin is used as a given name and a surname. One Welsh interpretation is “a friend of the sea.”
Original WelshMerfyn
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Welsh interpretation is “a friend of the sea.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Welsh.
How it developed
In Cebuano usage, Marvin developed from Merfyn.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Marvin through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 255,807
- 254,192 boys · 1,615 girls
- Most popular year
- 1928
- 4,484 babies
- 2025
- 385
- #699 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −12%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 385 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 699 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 12.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 4,452 in 1928. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (38). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 135,343 as a first name in 2020; 9,627 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.
Marvin’s family of names
In English usage, Marvin has a diminutive in MARVIE. Marvin has a feminine form in Marva. Marvin has a related form in Mervyn.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Marvin has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Welsh roots to each of them.
Welshwhere Marvin comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 36
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Marviediminutive · English
- Merwinvariant · English, German
- Marwinvariant · German
- Marvdiminutive · English
- Marvevariant
- Murvinvariant
- Marvynvariant
- Marvenvariant
Show 28 moreShow fewer
- Mervynvariant
- Marrvinlikely variant
- Bentotdiminutive · ceb
- Mirfinvariant · English
- Mervinevariant · English
- Murvennevariant
- Murvennvariant
- Murvenvariant
- Murvinnevariant
- Murvinnvariant
- Murvynnevariant
- Murvynnvariant
- Murvynvariant
- Marwynnevariant
- Marwynnvariant
- Marwynvariant
- Marwinevariant
- Marwinnevariant
- Marwinnvariant
- Marwennevariant
- Marwennvariant
- Marwenvariant
- Marvynnevariant
- Marvynnvariant
- Marvennevariant
- Marvennvariant
- Marvinnevariant
- Marvinnvariant
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Marvin
- Marvin GayeAmerican R&B and soul singer (1939–1984)
- Marvin MinskyAmerican cognitive scientist (1927-2016)
- Marvin PlattenhardtGerman association football player (born 1992)
- Marvin HamlischAmerican composer and conductor (1944-2012)
- Marvin HarrisAmerican anthropologist (1927-2001)
- Marvin MartinFrench footballer (born 1988)
- Marvin CompperGerman footballerborn 1985
- Marvelous Marvin HaglerAmerican boxer (1954–2021)
- Marvin Duckschprofessional football playerborn 1994
Characters named Marvin: Dr. Marvin Monroe (The Simpsons character), Mouth McFadden (One Tree Hill).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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If you love Marvin, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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