Given name & surname · also Germanic
Yves
“a young archer”
Yves is used as a given name and a surname. One French interpretation is “a young archer.”
Original FrenchYvon
Meaning & origin
What it means
One French interpretation is “a young archer.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Germanic.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1916. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Yves through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,261
- 1,202 boys · 59 girls
- Most popular year
- 1985
- 37 babies
- 2025
- 26
- #5,598 for boys · #10,895 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +37%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 17 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,598 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 5.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 37 in 1985. It also appeared in 9 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (6). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,543 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Yves’s family of names
Yves has a diminutive in Yvonne. Yves shares a linguistic root with Ivo. In French usage, Yves has a conventional equivalent in Yvon.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Yves has relatives in 14 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
15 related names in 14 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Yvondiminutive · French, gallo
- Yvelindiminutive · French
- Yvettediminutive
- Yvonnediminutive · Tagalog, ceb
- Yvanvariant
- Yvevariant
- Yvesslikely variant
- Yvetevariant
Show 2 moreShow fewer
Across languages 18
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 Yves
- Yves Saint LaurentFrench fashion designer (1936–2008)
- Yves MontandFrench-Italian actor and singer (1921–1991)
- Yves Letermeformer Belgian prime ministerborn 1960
- Yves ChauvinFrench chemist (1930–2015)
- Yves Klein20th century French visual artist (1928–1962)
- Yves TanguyFrench painter (1900–1955)
- Yves BissoumaMalian-Ivorian association football playerborn 1996
- Yves CongarDominican priest and cardinal (1904–1995)
- Yves BonnefoyFrench poet, essayist, translator (1923–2016)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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If you love Yves, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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