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[ 2 syll. al-vin, alv-in ] The boy name Alvin is pronounced as AELVIHN †. Alvin is used chiefly in the English language and its origin is Old English. The name's meaning is elf friend; noble friend. From the elements 'aelf' meaning elf, supernatural being + 'aethel' meaning noble, honorable + 'wine' meaning friend. The first name is derived from both the old forms Aelfwine (Old English) and Aethelwine (Old English), which gave rise to the forms Alwin or Alewyn after the Norman Conquest. The medieval forms were not particulary popular, until they were given a boost by Theodore Watts-Dunton's prose romance Aylwin (1898). The name was later made familiar as the name of the singing chipmunk character in the popular US cartoon series Alvin and the Chipmunks (1958-). The name Alvina (English and Russian) is the female form of Alvin. Alvin has 19 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants used in English include Albin (used in Czech, German, Polish, Scandinavian, Slavic, and Russian as well), Alvan, Alvis (used in Scandinavian as well), Alwin (used in German, Portuguese, and Dutch as well), Alwyn (used in Welsh as well), Aylwin, Elwin, and Elwyn. Other English forms include the short form Al, the pet forms Alvie and Alvy, and the variant spellings Alven, Alvyn, and Elvin. Foreign variants of Alvin include Aloin (French), Aluin (French), Aluino (Spanish), Alv, and Alvino (Italian). See also the related form, Elvis (English). Alvin is a classic favorite. At present it is still fairly popular as a baby name for boys, though to a lesser extent than it was in the past. Its usage peaked modestly in 1927 with 0.248% of baby boys being given the name Alvin. It ranked at #66 then. The baby name has since markedly fallen in popularity, and is today of occasional use. In 2009, its usage was only 0.022% and its ranking #570, but it was nonetheless the most popular among all boy names in its group. In 2009, 87% more boys were named Alvin than the subsequent ranked name, Elvis. Baby names that sound like Alvin include Alban (English and German), Alben (English), Albin (Czech, English, German, Polish, Scandinavian, Slavic, and Russian), Alpin (English), Alpine (English), Alvan (English), Alven (English), Alvyn (English), Albain (English and French), Albano (Italian and Spanish), Albany (English), Albinn, Albino (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), Albion (Albanian and English), Alvino (Italian), Albioni (Albanian), and Olufemi (Yoruban). Details of famous persons named Alvin:
† Pronunciation for Alvin: AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; V as in "vee (V.IY)" ; IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)"   |
