The name Livan first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1997. It reached peak usage the very next year.
- 1999: 23 baby boys named Livan
- 1998: 66 baby boys named Livan [peak]
- 1997: 36 baby boys named Livan [debut]
- 1996: unlisted
- 1995: unlisted
Where did it come from?
Professional baseball player Liván Hernández, who was born (as Eisler Liván Hernández Carrera) in Cuba in 1975.
Liván pitched for nine different teams during his 17-year Major League Baseball career (from 1996 to 2012).
He was particularly successful in 1997, when he helped the Florida Marlins win both the National League Championship Series (against the Atlanta Braves) and the World Series (against the Cleveland Indians). He was named MVP of both series.
Later in his career, he was selected as an All-Star twice (in 2004 and 2005) and received a Silver Slugger Award (in 2004).
What are your thoughts on the name Liván?
P.S. Hernández’s older half-brother, Orlando, was also a pitcher in the major leagues.
Sources: Liván Hernández – Wikipedia, SSA
Image: Adapted from Hires 110331-D-7377C-010b (public domain) by Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
I like it! Is it related at all to Levon (like the Elton John song/Levon Helm)?
I’m not sure about the etymology of Liván, so I don’t know if it’s related to Levon. They are very similar, though.
The first given name of Hernandez catches my eye: Eisler. This one is obviously honoring the composer Hanns Eisler who composed the tunes for many famous Brecht songs. He was expelled from his American Exile in the McCarthy era.
Interesting! I didn’t spot anything about the source of his first name, but that’s an intriguing possibility.