The story in the numbers

218,340 boys have been named Calvin in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1924, with 4,919 births — 0.43% of all boys recorded that year.

It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 182 → 140).

Half of everyone given the name was born by 1964, and the 1950s alone account for 14%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 8 of them in the top 100.

It is overwhelmingly a boy’s name: 1,216 girls have also been given it, 0.55% of the total.

Rank among boys, year by year

By decade

Decade

boys named Calvin

1,236

1,102

1,291

5,713

24,785

14,177

19,241

30,555

21,888

13,816

15,785

16,863

16,111

23,081

12,696

In 1924, its biggest year

Calvin was the 44th most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 1924 were Robert, John, William, James and Charles. See all of 1924.

Names that rose and fell with Calvin

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

Other spellings in the data

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.