Alvin (given name)
Alvin is a male given name in several cultures.
In the Balkans, it is popular among Bosniaks in the former Yugoslav nations, as well as among Albanians. The name is a variation of Elvin, another name commonly used within these groups. Its popularity among these communities is likely due to its similarity to Aldin, a name also shared by many in the region.
Etymology
Alvin was introduced in the 19th century based on surnames that were in turn derived from the Old English names Æthelwine and Ealdwine. The names mean "noble friend" and "old friend" respectively.The corresponding German name is Alwin, which continues the Old High German names Albwin and Adalwin.
Notable people with the given name
- Alvin Abundo, Filipino basketball player
- Alvin Achenbaum, American businessman
- Alvin Ackerley, Great Britain and England international rugby league footballer
- Alvin Adams, early 19th-century American businessman
- Alvin P. Adams Jr., American diplomat
- Alvin P. Adams Sr., American aviation executive
- Alvin Aguilar, Filipino martial artist
- Alvin Ailey, African-American choreographer and activist
- Alvin Alcorn, American jazz trumpeter
- Alvin Alden, American businessman and politician
- Alvin L. Alm, American environmental regulator
- Alvin Alvarez, American actor
- Alvin T. Amaral, American politician
- Alvin Eli Amason, American painter
- Alvin Anson, Filipino actor
- Alvin Anthons, Malaysian entertainer
- Alvin Arrondel, French professional footballer
- Alvin Ashley, American football player
- Alvin O. Austin, American academic administrator
- Alvin Aubert, American poet and scholar
- Alvin Avinesh, Fijian footballer
- Alvin Bailey, American football player
- Alvin Baldus, American politician
- Alvin Baltrop, American photographer
- A. B. Barber, United States Army officer
- Alvin L. Barry, President of Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
- Alvin Batiste, American jazz clarinetist
- Alvin Bell, American football and basketball player and football official
- Alvin Gladstone Bennett, Jamaican writer
- Alvin Morell Bentley, American politician
- Alvin Bernard, Dominican politician
- Alvin Blount, American gridiron football player
- Alvin Boretz, American screenwriter
- Alvin Botes, South African politician
- Alvin J. Boutte, American banker and businessman
- Alvin Bowen, American football player
- Alvin Bowman, American academic administrator
- Alvin Bragg, American lawyer and politician
- Alvin Bronson, American politician
- Alvin Bronstein, American lawyer
- Alvin Brooks (basketball, born 1959), American basketball player and coach
- Alvin Brooks III, American basketball player and coach
- Alvin Brown (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin Bubb, Grenada international footballer
- Alvin Bullock, Canadian politician
- Alvin Burke, Jr., birth name of Hassan Hamin Assad, better known as Montel Vontavious Porter
- Alvin Burroughs, American jazz musician
- Alvin C. Bush, American politician
- Alvin Bush, American politician
- Alvin Cailan, American chef and YouTuber
- Alvin Andrew Callender, American pursuit pilot and a flying ace in World War I
- Alvin B. Cardwell, American experimental physicist
- Alvin P. Carey, United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
- Alvin Carlsson, Swedish diver
- A. P. Carter, American singer-songwriter
- Alvin Cash, American actor and singer
- Alvin Cassel, American lawyer
- Alvin Ceccoli, Australian footballer
- Alvin Duke Chandler, Rear Admiral of the United States
- Alvin Chau, Macanese businessman and criminal
- Alvin Childress, American actor
- Alvin J. Clasen, American politician
- Alvin Langdon Coburn, American photographer
- Alvin Aaron Coffey Sr. African American pioneer, miner, and farmer in California; who was formerly enslaved
- Alvin Colina, Venezuelan baseball player
- Alvin Colt, American costume designer
- Alvin Cooperman, American television producer
- Alvin Coox, American military historian and author
- Alvin Corneal, Trinidad and Tobago footballer and cricketer
- Alvin Robert Cornelius, Pakistani judge
- Alvin Crowder, American baseball player
- Alvin H. Culver, American football player and coach
- Alvin Curling, Jamaican-born Canadian politician
- Alvin Curran, American musician and composer
- Alvin Daniel, Trinidad and Tobago sprinter
- Alvin Daniels, French Guianan professional footballer
- Alvin Dark, Major League Baseball player and manager
- Alvin Darling, American gospel musician
- Alvin Davis, Major League Baseball player
- Alvin J. DeGrow, American politician
- Alvin Deutsch, American lawyer
- Alvin Devane, American singer and police lieutenant
- Alvin Dewey, American police officer
- Alvin Swen Dixon, Liberian footballer
- Alvin E. Dodd, American consulting engineer
- Alvin Joseph Downing, American jazz musician
- Alvin Drew, American astronaut
- Alvin Dueck, American psychologist and theologian
- Alvin Duncan, Canadian historian
- Alvin Duskin, American educator, entrepreneur and activist
- Alvin R. Dyer, American Mormon leader
- Alvin Eisenman, American graphic designer
- Alvin Elchico, Filipino broadcast journalist
- Alvin Endt, American politician
- Alvin Epstein, American actor
- Alvin Etler, American composer and musician
- Alvin Evans, American politician
- Alvin Feldman, American airline executive and mechanical engineer
- Alvin S. Felzenberg, American historian
- Alvin Fielder, American jazz drummer
- Alvin Fisher, Canadian ice hockey player
- Alvin Fortes, Cape Verdean footballer
- Alvin Francisco, Filipino radiologist and media personality
- Alvin Frankenberg, American lawyer
- Alvin T. Fuller, American businessman and politician
- Alvin Ganzer, American film director
- Alvin Garcia, Filipino politician and lawyer
- Alvin Gardiner, Australian tennis player
- Alvin Garrett, American football player
- Alvin Gentry, American basketball player and coach
- Alvin Gipson, American baseball player
- Alvin Gittins, English painter
- Alvin Goldfarb, American academic
- Alvin Goldman, American philosopher
- Alvin Gouldner, American sociologist and activist
- Alvin Edwin Graham, Canadian politician
- Alvin C. Graves, American nuclear physicist
- A. C. Greene, American journalist and politician
- Alvin Greene, American political candidate
- Alvin Greenidge, West Indian cricketer
- Alvin F. Grospiron, American labor leader
- Alvin Abdul Halim, Indonesian footballer
- Alvin Hall (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin Hamilton, Canadian politician
- Alvin A. Handrich, American farmer, businessman and politician
- Alvin Hansen, American economist
- Alvin F. Harlow, American writer and biographer
- Alvin Harper, American football player
- Alvin Harrison, American Olympic gold medal runner
- Alvin Hart (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin Hawkins, American judge
- Alvin Hayes, American jazz musician
- Alvin Haymond, American football player
- Alvin Haynes, Barbadian triple jumper
- Alvin Heaps, American labor union leader
- Alvin Heggs, American basketball player
- Alvin Hellerstein, American federal judge
- Alvin Henderson (American football), American football player
- Alvin Henry, Trinidad and Tobago sprinter
- Alvin Tobias Hert, American politician
- Alvin Hewlett, Canadian politician
- Alvin O. Hofstad, American farmer and politician
- Alvin Hollingsworth, American painter and comic book artist
- Alvin Holmes, American politician
- Alvin Holsey, United States Navy admiral
- Alvin P. Hovey, American Civil War general, Indiana supreme court justice, congressman, and governor of Indiana
- Alvin Howard, American cricketer
- Alvin Huang, Chinese-American architect
- Alvin Hung, creator of GoAnimate
- Alvin Hudson, Canadian soccer player
- Alvin Ing, American singer and actor
- Alvin Jacklick, Marshallese politician
- Alvin Jackson (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin C. Jacobs Jr., American documentary photographer
- Alvin Jaeger, American politician
- Alvin James, Jamaican-American soccer player
- Alvin Jemmott, Guyanese cricketer
- Alvin Johnson (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin M. Johnston, American test pilot
- Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, better known by his stage name Xzibit, American rapper and actor
- Alvin Jones (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin M. Josephy Jr., American journalist and civil rights activist
- Alvin Kahle, American politician
- Alvin Kallicharran, West Indian cricketer
- Alvin Kamara, American football player
- Alvin Karadža, Bosnian-Herzegovinian footballer
- Alvin Karpis, noted American criminal and "public enemy"
- Alvin Katz, American politician
- Alvin Ratz Kaufman, Canadian industrialist and birth control advocate
- Alvin Kelly (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin Olin King, American politician
- Alvin Kirkland, American rugby league and gridiron player
- Alvin Paul Kitchin, American politician
- Alvin Klein, American journalist and theater critic
- Alvin Kletsch, American football coach
- Alvin Kraenzlein, American athlete, four-time gold medalist at the 1900 Paris Olympics
- Alvin Krenzler, American judge
- A. B. Krongard, executive director of the CIA
- Alvin Boyd Kuhn, American religious scholar
- Alvin H. Kukuk, American politician
- Alvin La Feuille, West Indies cricketer
- Alvin Landy, American bridge player
- Alvin Law, Canadian motivational speaker and radio broadcaster
- Alvin Lee (comics), Canadian comic book artist
- Alvin Lee, born Graham Barnes, English guitarist and singer
- Alvin Leung, Canadian chef and television personality
- Alvin Levin, American writer
- Alvin Lewis (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin Liberman, American linguist
- Alvin Libin, Canadian businessman and philanthropist
- Alvin Lie, Indonesian politician
- Alvin Francis Lindsay, American politician
- Alvin Loftes, American cyclist
- Alvin Loucks, American football player and coach
- Alvin D. Loving, African-American abstract expressionist painter
- Alvin Lucier, American composer
- Alvin Luedecke, United States Air Force general
- Alvin Lustig, American graphic and interior designer
- Alvin Maccornell, Liberian footballer
- Alvin Malnik, American businessman and attorney
- Alvin Manley, American boxer
- Alvin Marriott, Jamaican sculptor
- Alvin Martin, English footballer
- Alvin Maxson, American football player
- Alvin McCoy, American journalist
- Alvin McDonald, American caver and tour guide
- Alvin McKinley, American football player
- Alvin Coulter McLean, Canadian politician from Ontario
- Alvin Mendoza, Mexican footballer
- Alvin F. Meredith III, American current president
- Alvin Mitchell (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin Moore (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin Morada, Filipino badminton player
- Alvin Morman, American baseball player
- Alvin Cecil Murray, Canadian politician and farmer
- Alvin Ng, Hong Kong male singer, host and actor under Voice Entertainment
- Alvin K. C. Ng, apprentice jockey in Hong Kong
- Alvin Andreas Herborg Nielsen, American physicist in molecular spectroscopy
- Alvin Nnabuife, American football player
- Alvin O'Konski, American politician and educator
- Alvin Obinna Okoro, Nigerian football player
- Alvin Osterback, American businessman, commercial fisherman and politician
- Alvin Otieno, Kenyan rugby sevens player
- Alvin Ott, American politician
- Alvin M. Owsley, American diplomat
- Alvin Pam, American psychologist
- Alvin Pang, Chinese poet
- Alvin Pankhurst, New Zealand magic realist artist
- Alvin Parker, American football coach
- Alvin Pasaol, Filipino basketball player
- Alvin Patrimonio, Filipino basketball player
- Alvin Seeco Patterson, Jamaican percussionist
- Alvin Pearman, American football player
- Alvin Penn, American politician
- Alvin H. Perlmutter, American film producer
- Alvin Pierson, American football player and coach
- Alvin Plantinga, American philosopher
- Alvin Plumb, American politician
- Alvin Porter, American football player
- Alvin Francis Poussaint, American psychiatrist
- Alvin Powell, American football player
- Alvin Prouder, American kickboxer
- Alvin J. Quackenbush, American politician
- Alvin Queen, American-born Swiss jazz drummer
- Alvin Rabushka, American economist
- Alvin Radkowsky, American nuclear physicist
- Alvin Rakoff, Canadian film and television director
- Alvin Ranglin, Jamaican musician and record producer
- Alvin J. Redford, American politician and police officer
- Alvin Reed, American football player
- Alvin C. Reis, American lawyer and Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge, member of the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly
- Alvin Rentería, Colombian triple jumper
- Alvin Rettig, American football player
- Alvin Reynolds, American football player and coach
- Alvin Risk, American record producer
- Alvin Robertson, NBA basketball player
- Alvin Robinson (musician), American musician
- Alvin Robinson, American mixed martial arts fighter
- Alvin Hirsch Rosenfeld, American scholar of religion
- Alvin Roth (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin Rouse, Barbadian footballer
- Alvin Benjamin Rubin, American judge
- Alvin Saldaña, Chilean lawyer
- Alvin Salehi, American technology executive
- Alvin J. Salkind, American chemical engineer
- Alvin Sanders, American voice actor
- Alvin Sargent, American screenwriter
- Alvin Sariaatmadja, Indonesian entrepreneur and investor
- Alvin Saunders, governor of Nebraska Territory and later U.S. Senator from Nebraska
- Alvin Anthony Schall, American judge
- Alvin Schwartz (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin Scott, American basketball player
- Alvin See, American politician
- Alvin Segal, American-Canadian businessman
- Alvin Sella, American painter and educator
- Alvin Setzepfandt, American politician
- Alvin P. Shapiro, American politician
- Alvin Barrett Sheehan, American entertainment businessman and radio host
- Alvin Shrier, Canadian scientist
- Alvin Simes, lawyer and state legislator in Arkansas
- Alvin Sims, American basketball player
- Alvin Singh, Fijian footballer
- Alvin Singleton, American composer
- Alvin Slaughter, American singer
- Alvin Smith (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin Snow, American basketball player
- Alvin Snyder, American journalist and author
- Alvin F. Sortwell, American politician
- Alvin Milton Spessard, American politician from Alabama
- Alvin Stardust, born Bernard Jewry, English pop singer
- Alvin Williams Stokes, African-American investigator for the federal government
- Alvin Stoller, American drummer
- Alvin Straight, American man who became notable for traveling on a lawnmower
- Alvin M. Strauss, American architect
- Alvin C. Strutz, American judge
- Alvin M. Suchin, American politician
- Alvin Sykes, American civil rights activist
- Alvin Tan (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin Taylor (serial killer), American serial killer
- Alvin Taylor, American drummer
- Alvin Tehau, Tahitian footballer
- Alvin Tehupeiory, Indonesian sprinter
- Alvin Teng, Filipino basketball player
- Alvin W. Thompson, American judge
- Alvin Thornton, American university administrator
- Alvin Todd, American film editor
- Alvin Toffler, American writer and futurist
- Alvin Toles, American football player
- Alvin V. Tollestrup, American physicist
- Alvin Townley, American author
- Alvin Tresselt, American children’s book author
- Alvin Trivelpiece, American physicist
- Alvin S. Trow, American politician
- Alvin Twitchell, American football and basketball coach
- Alvin Tyler, American musician
- Alvin Ubell, American architectural designer
- Alvin Valley, American fashion designer
- Alvin Vogtle, American lawyer, executive, World War II pilot and POW
- Alvin C. Voris, American politician and military officer from Ohio
- Alvin Ray Skip Walker, American gridiron football player
- Alvin Walton, American football player
- Alvin F. Weichel, American politician
- Alvin M. Weinberg, American nuclear physicist
- Alvin C. Weingand, American politician
- Alvin White (disambiguation), multiple people
- Alvin Wiederspahn, American politician and attorney
- Alvin Williams, American basketball player
- Alvin Williams (American football), American football player
- Alvin J. Wirtz, American politician
- Alvin Wistert, American football player
- Alvin Wolfe, American anthropologist
- Alvin Wood, 19th-century American settler
- Alvin Wright, American football player
- Alvin Wyatt, American football player and sports coach
- Alvin Wyckoff, American cinematographer
- Alvin Yapan, Filipino film director
- Alvin Yeo, Singaporean lawyer and politician
- Alvin Yeryomin, Russian economist and politician
- Alvin Yeung, Hong Kong barrister and politician
- Alvin C. York, World War I soldier, Medal of Honor awardee
- Alvin Young, American professional basketball player
Pseudonyms
- Alvin, one of many pseudonyms of Ken Laszlo, Eurobeat vocalist
Fictional characters
- Alvin Seville, of the animated characters Alvin and the Chipmunks
- Alvin Tarleton, father of M.O.D.O.K. in the miniseries M.O.D.O.K.: Head Games
- Father Alvin, in the 2018 role-playing video game Deltarune
- Alvin Miller, the main protagonist of the alternate history fantasy novel series ''The Tales of Alvin Maker''