Alvin was introduced in the Middle Ages based on surnames which were in turn derived from the Old English names Æthelwine, Ælfwine and Ealdwine. The names mean "noble friend", "friend of the elves", and "old friend" respectively.
The corresponding German name is Alwin, which continues the Old High German names Albwin and Adalwin.
Alvin Adams, early 19th-century businessmanAlvin Ailey, African American choreographer and activistAlvin Langdon Coburn, photographerAlvin Dark, Major League Baseball player and managerAlvin Davis, Major League Baseball playerAlvin Goldman, American philosopherAlvin Hall, financial adviser, author and TV presenterAlvin Harrison, American Olympic gold medal runnerAlvin P. Hovey, American Civil War general, Indiana supreme court justice, congressman, and governor of IndianaAlvin Hung, creator of GoAnimate.Alvin Karpis, noted American criminal and "public enemy"Alvin Kraenzlein, American athlete, four-time gold medalist at the 1900 Paris OlympicsAlvin Boyd Kuhn, religious scholarAlvin Lee, born Graham Barnes, guitarist and singerAlvin Martin (born 1958), English footballerAlvin Mitchell (disambiguation), multiple peopleAlvin Moore (disambiguation), multiple peopleAlvin Plantinga, philosopherAlvin Robertson, NBA basketball playerAlvin Saunders (1817-1899), governor of Nebraska Territory and later U.S. Senator from NebraskaAlvin Soura Pandey, Bangladeshi Audio EngineerAlvin Stardust, born Bernard Jewry, English pop singerAlvin Toffler, writer and futuristAlvin Williams, American basketball playerAlvin Williams (American football), American football playerAlvin C. York, famous World War I soldier, Medal of Honor awardeeAlvin, one of many pseudonyms of Ken Laszlo, Eurobeat vocalistAlvin, of fictional animated characters Alvin and the Chipmunks