Alva is a unisex given name. It is used in Sweden and Norway as a feminine form of the name Alf, meaning "elf." It is also a spelling variant of the Biblical masculine name Alvah, meaning "his highness." Alva is a currently popular name in Sweden, where it was ranked among the ten most popular names given to newborn girls in 2012. Notable people with the name include:
Men Alva Adams (governor) (1850–1922), Governor of Colorado Alva B. Adams (1875–1941), U.S. Senator from Colorado, son of the governor Alva Baptiste, Saint Lucian politician Alva Ted Bonda (1917–2005), president and part-owner of the Cleveland Indians Major League Baseball team Alva Bradley (1884–1953), American businessman and baseball executive Alva M. Cummins (1869–1946), American lawyer Alva Duer (1904–1987), American college basketball coach Alva R. Fitch (1907–1989), United States Army lieutenant general Alva Clark Forney (1871–1956), Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota Alva Garey (1883–1971), American politician Alva L. Hager (1850–1923), three-term U.S. Representative from Iowa Alva L. Kitselman, American businessman from Muncie, Indiana. Alva Johnston (disambiguation), several people Alva Johnston (journalist) (1888–1950), American journalist Alva Johnston (politician) (1872–1953), American politician from Nebraska Alva Kelley (1918–1999), American college football player and coach Alva Liles (1956–1998), American football player Alva M. Lumpkin (1886–1941), U.S. Senator from South Carolina for less than a month Alva Hugh Maddox (1930–2020), justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama Alva Noë (born 1964), American philosopher and cognitive scientist Alva Allie Paine (1919–2008), American basketball player Alva Ross (1928–2004), Jamaican politician
Women Alva Belmont (1853–1933), American socialite and suffragette Alva Challis (1930–2010), Welsh-born New Zealand geologist Alva Colquhoun (1942–2025), Australian swimmer Alva C. Ellisor (1892–1964), American geologist, one of the first female stratigraphers in North America Alva Forsius (1866–1935), Finnish midwife, social worker and a founding member of the Finnish Salvation Army Alva Myrdal (1902–1986), Swedish sociologist, diplomat and politician, Nobel Peace Prize winner
Fictional characters Gunnery Sergeant Alva Bricker, on the American sitcom Major Dad Alva Lorenz, a hunter in the video game Identity V
Alva, in the miniseries Islands
Alva, a tactical android in the video game Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium
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