Alva
2025 SSA
2025 SSA
About Alva
While the male Alva or Alvah relates directly to the minor Biblical character, the female version is more likely an Anglicized form of the Irish name Ailbhe, or a feminine form the name Alf (and Alf- beginning names), popular in its native Sweden and Norway. Best known as Thomas Edison's middle name, Alva has true unisex roots.
Alva for boys#10762 US
Edison's middle name is a fabulous option for parents looking for something with history and a soft sound. This could be the name you're looking for if you like Tesla's scientific pedigree but think that it has become too corporate with the advent of Elon Musk's company.
Pronounced AL-vah.
As of October 2026, Alva ranked #5567 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #334 in 1896.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · girls | Births · girls | US rank · boys | Births · boys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | #4,999 | 27 | — | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | #4,775 | 28 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | #4,349 | 32 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | #3,614 | 41 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | #4,619 | 29 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | #4,676 | 29 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #4,465 | 31 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | — | 0 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Alva for girls
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Alva on lists
Famous Alvas
- Alva VanderbiltGirl
American socialite and suffragette
- Thomas Alva EdisonGirl
American inventor
- Alva GustafssonGirl
Minor actress, sister of Greta Garbo
- Alva MyrdalGirl
winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
- Alva AdamsBoy
Governor of Colorado
- Alva Blanchard AdamsBoy
U.S. Senator
- Alva Clark ForneyBoy
Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
- Alva DuerBoy
American college basketball coach
- Alva JohnstonBoy
Pulitzer Prize,winning journalist, author and biographer
- Alva Leon "Allie" PaineBoy
American basketball player
- Alva Revista FitchBoy
United States Army lieutenant general
- Alva Romanus BaptisteBoy
Saint Lucian politician
Alva in pop culture
- Alva StarGirl
main character of movie/play 'This Property is Condemned"
- AlvaGirl
female form of Alf, which means in "elf" in Swedish.
- Alva StubbinsGirl
character in "The Rose Years" series by Roger Lea MacBride
- AlvaBoy
farmer Arphaxed Turnbull's son by his first wife in "The War Widow" (1894) by Harold Frederic