Given name & surname

Severn

“one who is strict; stern”

Severn is a variant of Severin. One Latin interpretation is “one who is strict; stern.”

Meaning & origin

What it means

Severn is a variant of Severin. One Latin interpretation is “one who is strict; stern.”

Explained through its name family

Where it comes from

Severn is a variant of Severin. An origin associated with Severin is Latin.

Explained through its name family

How it developed

Possibly from Middle English Severne, from Old English Sæfern, from Proto-Celtic *Sabrinā.

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Severn through the years

Babies since 1880
126
126 boys · 0 girls
Most popular year
1924
9 babies
2025
0
Outside the ranked list
2021–25 vs 2016–20
—
Too few births to compare
02468192019401960198020002025Highest share 19240.0
Severn in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1915–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 2006. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 9 in 1924. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 203 as a first name in 2020; 1,207 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.

Severn’s family of names

Severn has a related form in Severin.

Walk Severn’s family in the name graph

SevernSeverinSabrinaSeverenSever

Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 1

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Across languages 3

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

People named Severn

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Similar names

If you love Severn, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Old-fashioned

Lavern

Lavern is a unisex given name.

25RareRising

>99% boys

Hebrew

Cephas

“as solid as a rock”

22RareEasing

>99% boys

Old-fashioned

Elwyn

“a friend of the elves”

21RareRising fast

81% boys · 19% girls

 

Elson

“from the nobleman's town”

22RareSteady

>99% boys

Old-fashioned

Elwin

“a friend of the elves”

22RareRising

>99% boys

Old-fashioned

Celestino

“from heaven”

26RareSteady

>99% boys

English · Old-fashioned

Elden

“an old friend”

28RareSteady

>99% boys

Italian · Old-fashioned

Santo

“a holy man”

27RareRising fast

>99% boys

Sibling ideas

Names that share Severn’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Severn

A sister for Severn