|
||||
 [ 2 syll. al-vin, alv-in ] The boy name Alvin is pronounced as AELVIHN KEY. 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 17 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants of Alvin used in English include Albin (used in Czech, German, Polish, Scandinavian, Slavic, and Russian as well), Alvan, 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. Aloin (French), Aluin (French), Aluino (Spanish), and Alvino (Italian) are foreign variants of Alvin. 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 of occasional use in recent years. In 2008, its usage was only 0.030% and its ranking #437, but it was nonetheless the most popular among all boy names in its group. In 2008, Alvin was twice as popular as the subsequent ranked name, Elvis (English). 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), Albino (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), Albion (Albanian and English), Alvino (Italian), and Albioni (Albanian). Details of famous persons named Alvin: KEY: 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)"   |
