#1Famous people · Alva, Clackmannanshire
Of the 12 famous people born in Alva, an unusual share are athletes
Most widely known is Billy Hunter, the Scottish footballer, with articles in 13 languages. The next two names are Jimmy Harrower and Jock Drummond. More than half were born in the Victorian era, 6 in all. The oldest name on the list belongs to Robert Erskine, born in 1677, the newest to Frederick H. Jackson, born in 1938.
Born here
12
notable people
Best known
Billy Hunter
in 13 Wikipedia languages
First
1677
Robert Erskine
Youngest
1938
Frederick H. Jackson
Most common field
Sports
9 people
What stands out about Alva’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Alva is known for
Alva has 1.5× the usual share of athletes.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Alva
All three are athletes.
#1JH#2
JD#3
Through the years
When Alva’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1880s come out on top, with 3 births.
SportsPolitics & LawScience & Medicine
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Alva
Another 9, 6 of them athletes.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Close by, Stirling counts 208 famous people, the most of its neighbours.
Stirling · 6 miJames III of Scotland & 207 more
Alloa · 2 miDavid Allan & 30 more
Bridge of Allan · 6 miDonald Ewen Cameron & 23 moreDHTillicoultry · 2 miDavid Horne & 9 more
Clackmannan · 4 miJohn Balfour, 1st Baron Kinross & 7 moreBGBannockburn · 6 miBrian Grant & 7 more
Menstrie · 2 miWilliam Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling & 4 moreGRTullibody · 2 miGeorge Reid & 3 moreQuestions about famous people from Alva
Who is the most famous person from Alva?
Billy Hunter (Scottish footballer (1885-1937)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 13 languages. Next come Jimmy Harrower and Jock Drummond.
How many famous people were born in Alva?
12 people born in Alva have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 13 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Alva known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 9 of the 12. That is 75% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Alva?
Robert Erskine, born in 1677. The youngest on the list was born in 1938.
Who counts as from Alva?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Alva’s locality (the NRS 2022 locality boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by National Records of Scotland’s Census 2022 locality boundaries (Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (7)
- Billy Hunter: Schnabel SC — Dirk Gerardus Andries Schnabel (1870-1933), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Frederick H. Jackson: BC NDP History Group, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James III of Scotland: Hugo van der Goes, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- David Allan: David Allan, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Donald Ewen Cameron: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Balfour, 1st Baron Kinross: Leslie Ward, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.