Niven
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- NIV-en
- Origin
- Scottish
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,742 for boys
Niven is a boys' name of Scottish origin. In 2025 it ranked 2,742nd for boys in the UK (8 babies).
What does Niven mean?
Scottish: from a Scottish surname
From a Scottish surname, borne by the actor David Niven and the science-fiction writer Larry Niven.
Is Niven a girl's or a boy's name?
Niven is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 8 boys in the UK. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Niven in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 2,742nd among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 8 about 1 in 37,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Falling fast down 63% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 8 boys in the UK were named Niven, making it the 2,742nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,359th. Its busiest year was 2019, with 14 boys.
2025 had more boys named Niven than any year since 2020.
Half of all the boys named Niven in the UK since 1996 were born between 2006 and 2019, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 12 boys in the UK were given Niven or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,763, up from #2,742 for this spelling alone.
- Niven 8
- Nivin 4
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,212th in England and Wales and 647th in Scotland.
Niven in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #2,742 |
| 2024 | 3 | #5,198 |
| 2023 | 2 | #6,493 |
| 2022 | 6 | #3,219 |
| 2021 | 3 | #4,989 |
| 2020 | 9 | #2,359 |
| 2019 | 14 | #1,756 |
| 2018 | 12 | #1,981 |
| 2017 | 6 | #3,191 |
| 2016 | 5 | #3,655 |
| 2015 | 5 | #3,527 |
| 2014 | 1 | #6,179 |
| 2013 | 2 | #6,127 |
| 2012 | 2 | #6,266 |
| 2011 | 1 | #6,218 |
| 2010 | 1 | #6,148 |
| 2009 | 2 | #5,967 |
| 2008 | 5 | #3,305 |
| 2007 | 7 | #2,554 |
| 2006 | 4 | #3,522 |
| 2005 | 6 | #2,545 |
| 2004 | 5 | #2,691 |
| 2003 | 6 | #2,283 |
| 2002 | 2 | #4,226 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 4 | #2,612 |
| 1999 | 4 | #2,513 |
| 1998 | 1 | #3,884 |
Names like Niven
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Finn, Brody, Lochlan, Kayden, Finley, Eden, Rowan, Logan, Conan, Nolan, Brayden, Cody
Other spellings of Niven
Names related to Niven
More Scottish names
Isla, Arabella, Cameron, Bonnie, Paisley, Carson, Maxwell, Brodie, Finlay, Blair, Lennox, Skye, Knox, Dallas, Reid, Lachlan
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Niven: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/niven, updated 20 October 2026.