Gavin
A surname that usually points back to the medieval personal name Gavin, best known from the Arthurian name Gawain.
The #2,569 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 21,958 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Gavin is generally a surname formed from the medieval personal name Gavin, with historical sources treating it as a variant of Gawen/Gawain. The deeper origin of that given name is often linked to the Arthurian hero Gawain, though older writers sometimes gave competing explanations. In practice, the surname usually means "son of Gavin" or "descendant of a man named Gavin," rather than coming from a place or occupation.
History
19th-century surname dictionaries regularly cross-reference Gavin with Gawen, and note that the given name was used in both England and Scotland in the Middle Ages. The surname therefore developed as a patronymic from a familiar forename rather than from a separate lexical word. Related forms such as Mac Gavin also show the name’s use in Celtic naming traditions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname books note that Gawen/Gavin was still a familiar first name in parts of northern England well into the 17th century.
From the historical record
“Geneva. B.L.G. GAVIN. See Gawen. GAWDY. Local. Gawdy Hall, co. Norfolk. GAWEN. GAWAN. A Welsh and O. Scotch personal name. " The Gawens of Norrington, in the parish of Alvideston, continued in that place four hundred fifty and odd yeares. On the south downe of the farme of Broad Chalke is a little barrow”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom