Calvin

Bald; historically, “the bald one”

Calvin is a masculine name used in English, with a meaning rooted in an old description of baldness. That meaning belongs to the history of the surname behind it; it is not a description of the person who carries the given name today. The connection runs through the French reformer Jean Cauvin, known in English as John Calvin. His surname took the Latinized form Calvinus. This explains why Calvin can be described as English in given-name usage, French in its surname background and Latin in its linguistic roots. The English pronunciation has two syllables, with stress on the first. The crisp opening and neat n ending give Calvin a composed, slightly formal feel without much length. The established short form Cal feels more relaxed. There is also a playful cultural association in Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes: readers of the comic may hear a very different note from the historical one. You can enjoy either side without making it the whole identity of the name.

Etymology: An English given name from the surname associated with the reformer John Calvin. Its history links French Cauvin and the Latinized Calvinus, with Latin calvus meaning “bald”.