Calvados is a department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the Normandy coast. In 2…Calvados is a department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the Normandy coast. In 2019, it had a population of 694,905. Calvados is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790, in application of the law of 22 December 1789. It had been part of the former province of Normandy. The name "Orne-Inférieure" was originally proposed, but it was ultimately called Calvados after a group of rocks off its coast.