unisex name
Haven
HAY-vən
- Origin English
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 29,286
the United States
#190
2025 births
Haven is a name of Old English origin meaning "harbor" or "place of safety." It comes from hæfen, a port — the sense of refuge is a metaphor from the literal shelter a harbor gives a ship.
- Haven is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 1,781 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,862 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Haven started out as a boys' name and is now given almost entirely to girls.
- First appears in US birth records in 1899.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Haven over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1890s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 9 |
| 1900s | 5 |
| 1910s | 118 |
| 1920s | 165 |
| 1930s | 129 |
| 1940s | 184 |
| 1950s | 139 |
| 1960s | 113 |
| 1970s | 338 |
| 1980s | 401 |
| 1990s | 1,671 |
| 2000s | 5,723 |
| 2010s | 10,202 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 8,563 |
What Haven means
Haven means a harbor, and by extension a place of safety. The refuge sense grew from the physical one: a harbor is where a ship is safe from open water.
Where Haven comes from
Haven comes from the Old English hæfen, a harbor or port, related to the Old Norse hǫfn and to the Dutch haven — the word behind Copenhagen, which is the merchants' harbor. English places carry it in Newhaven and Whitehaven. The figurative sense of a refuge is medieval and is why the word works as a name. Its use as a given name is recent and American, part of the same word-name wave that produced Ember, Sage and Wren.
Haven in use
Our data records Haven for both sexes and shows it rising, and it first appears in our records in 1899 though it was effectively unused until the 2000s. It belongs to the current group of abstract word-names alongside Hope, Sage and Ember — and unlike the Puritan virtue names, this wave is chosen for sound as much as sense.
How popular is Haven?
In 2025, Haven was given to 1,781 babies in the United States, ranking #190 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Haven is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Haven
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Haven also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Haven over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Haven in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Haven
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Haven — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Haven
What does the name Haven mean?
Haven means "harbor" or "place of safety," from the Old English hæfen.
Is Haven related to Copenhagen?
Yes — Copenhagen means merchants' harbor, using the Danish form of the same Germanic word.
Is Haven a new name?
Effectively. Our records show it from 1912 but it was barely used until the 2000s.
How popular is the name Haven?
In 2025, Haven was given to 1,781 babies in the United States, ranking #190 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Haven a girl's or a boy's name?
Haven is used for both girls and boys. About 82% of recorded births with this name are girls.
How many syllables are in Haven?
Haven has 2 syllables.
When was Haven most popular?
Haven peaked in 2025, when 1,781 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Haven a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Haven currently ranks #190 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.
Was Haven originally a boys' or girls' name?
Haven was given mostly to boys in the earliest US birth records and is now given almost entirely to girls.