Lavina is a simplified form of Lavinia, the name of the Latin princess who married Aeneas in Virgil's Aeneid; its meaning is uncertain and it is usually explained as "woman of Lavinium", after the ancient Latin town. The shorter spelling was common in 19th-century America and lingers in Amish communities. Lavina stood at number 5245 in 2000 and climbed to number 2978 in 2025, its best rank of the period.