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 [ 3 syll. e-ve-lyn, ev-el-yn ] The girl name Evelyn is also used as a boy name, though it is far more popular for girls. It is pronounced EHVahLahN KEY. Evelyn is of Hebrew and Old French origin. It is used mainly in English. Hebrew and Old French origin: From aveline which means 'hazelnut' ; avis which means 'bird'. The first name is derived from the English surname, which is itself from the Gaelic name Aibhilin (Old Irish) or Eibhlín (Old Irish) due to the pronunciation of '-bh-' as 'v'. The alternative pronunciation of a silent '-bh-' leads to the variant Eileen. The Gaelic names are derived from Aveline (Old French), which is of uncertain origin. Aveline could be from the Old French for 'hazelnut', or it could be from avis ('bird'), or it could ultimately be a diminutive of Ava. Evelyn was adopted by English speakers as a feminine first name by the end of the 19th century. In literature, the Latinate form Evelina has been made known by the Fanny Burney novel Evelina (1778). See Evelyn for more info. Evelyn has 18 forms that are used in both English and foreign languages. English forms of the name include Avelina (also used in Spanish), Aveline (also used in French), Evaline, Evalyn, Eveleen, Evelina (also used in Italian and Scandinavian), Eveline (also used in German), Evelynn, Evilina, and Evlynn. Other English forms include the short form Eve (also used in French), the pet forms Evie (also used in Spanish) and Evvie, and the spelling variants Evelin (also used in German), Evelyne, and Evelynne. Forms of Evelyn used in foreign languages include the Finnish Eveliina and the Polish Ewelina. Evelyn is a form (English) of the English and French Eve. Evelyn is also a form (English) of the Czech, Dutch, English, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Scandinavian, Slavic, Spanish, Hungarian, Indian, and Polish Eva. See also the related forms, the German Ava and the English and Irish Eileen. Evelyn is popular as a baby girl name, and it is also perceived as trendy. Its usage peaked in 1919 with 1.134% of baby girls being named Evelyn. It had a ranking of #11 then. The baby name has experienced a marked decline in frequency since then. In 2008, it ranked at #54 with a usage of 0.245%, having regained some lost ground in the recent decade. Among all girl names in its family, Evelyn was the most popular. Evelyn was 72% more widely used than the 2nd most popular name, the Czech, Dutch, English, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Scandinavian, Slavic, Spanish, Hungarian, Indian, and Polish Eva, in 2008. Evelyn has in the last century been mainly given to girls. There were 186 times more girls than boys who were named Evelyn in 1930. Baby names that sound like Evelyn include the English and German Evelin, the English Evelyne, the English Evelynn, the English Evelynne, the English Eveleen, the English and German Eveline, the Finnish Eveliina, the English, Italian, and Scandinavian Evelina, the English Evlyn, and the English Evlynn. Details of famous persons named Evelyn: KEY: Pronunciation for Evelyn: EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; V as in "vee (V.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)"   |
