Gavin

The name derives from Gawain, a central figure in Middle English Arthurian romance with roots in the medieval Welsh Gwalchgwyn. Scottish writing retained the spelling Gavin for centuries, notably through Gavin Douglas, who completed his translation of Virgil into Scots in 1513. American birth certificates registered only sporadic entries after 1913 before the name began a sharp ascent in the late 1990s, carried by touring rock bands and a wider turn toward compact two-syllable names.

The name reads as a product of the mid-2000s, carrying the energy of a student council election flyer taped over painted cinderblock. A Gavin tends to be pictured with a lanyard around his neck and a car key fob that has seen better days. With an average age of nineteen, the name belongs almost entirely to people who have never set an alarm clock that plugs into a wall. Roughly sixty-six percent of living Gavins belong to Generation Z, meaning the name rarely has to explain how a burned CD worked.