Gavin Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Gavin last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Gavin last name
Meaning of the Gavin last name: irish Ó Gáibhín; Scots, from Gawain. The Gavin surname in Ireland is an English form of the Gaelic Ó Gáibhín, a family of County Mayo, where the last name is still most numerous. In Scotland Gavin also grew from the first name Gavin, the Scots form of Gawain. A curious detail: that makes this family name meaning partly Arthurian, since Gawain was one of the knights of the Round Table.
Arms associated with the Gavin name
In Gaelic Ireland heraldry was often linked with a whole sept rather than one person, and the coat of arms associated with the Gavin name grew in that custom.
Get your full Gavin family history
This is only a glimpse of the Gavin story. The full Gavin history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Gavin coat of arms. Get the full Gavin report.
Gavin name FAQ
What does the Gavin name mean?
Irish Ó Gáibhín; Scots, from Gawain. Common variants include Gavan, Gaven, Gavine.
Where does the Gavin surname come from?
It originates in Ireland, and is also found in the United States, England and Scotland.
Is there a Gavin coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Gavin coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland; Patrick Woulfe, Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames (1923); John Grenham, Irish Surnames (Irish Times / Grenham).