The name Gavin is a Welsh masculine name that means "white hawk." It has its roots in the mythical Welsh figure Gawain ("white falcon" or "little falcon") and later evolved through use by the English. It first became popular outside of Wales in the 1600s because of the English-born Saint Gavan, which led to the Italians adopting the name as Gavino. In recent years, it has had an extraordinary popularity boom in the United States, becoming one of the top five most popular names for newborn boys in the 2000s. It is also consistently in the top 100 boys names in Canada, Ireland, and Scotland, and is also a common surname in many English-speaking countries.
Some notable men named Gavin include:
