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Kalven
How to Pronounce Kalven
Pronounced KAL-vin /ˈkæl.vɪn/Medium
Meaning: Kalven is a respelling of Calvin, an English and French surname turned first name. It comes from the Latin calvus, 'bald,' originally a descriptive nickname, and gained lasting fame through the reformer John Calvin. Kalven swaps C for K and adjusts the ending, keeping the 'KAL-vin' sound and the surname's history.Low
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Kalven is a K-spelling of Calvin, a surname from the Latin calvus, 'bald,' first a nickname and later a family name. Calvin has served as a first name since the reformer John Calvin, and the modern Kalven spelling belongs to the recent taste for K-forms of familiar names. Its meaning and sound stay those of Calvin.
Kalven stayed rare, given to only about fourteen boys a year around its 2012 peak, far behind the steady Calvin. A boy named Kalven then is in early grade school today, his name a modern respelling of a classic surname-name.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Kalven mean?
It is a respelling of Calvin, a surname from the Latin calvus, 'bald.'
How do you pronounce Kalven?
It is said KAL-vin /ˈkæl.vɪn/ - two syllables, stress on the first, like Calvin.
Is Kalven a boy or girl name?
Kalven is used as a boy's name.
How popular is Kalven?
It was always rare, given to only about fourteen boys a year at its peak in the early twenty-tens, well below Calvin.