Evelyn - Meaning of Evelyn

What does Evelyn mean?

[ 3 syll. e-ve-lyn, ev-el-yn ] The baby girl name Evelyn is also used as a boy name, though it is far more popular for girls. It is pronounced in English as EHV-ah-LihN or EHV-LihN †. Evelyn is of Hebrew and Old French origin. It is used mainly in English. Old French origin: It is from aveline which means 'hazelnut' ; avis '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, 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 information.

In addition, Evelyn is a form (English) of Eva.

Evelyn is also a form (English) of the English and French Eve.

Evelyn is a widely used name; it has 37 forms that are used in English and foreign languages. English forms of the name include Avaline, Aveline (also used in French), Evaleen, Evalin, Evalina, Evaline (also used in French), Evalyn, Evalynn, Evalynne, Eveleen, Evelene, Evelina (also used in Italian and Scandinavian), Eveline (also used in German), Evelyna, Evelynn, Evilina, Evilyn, Evleen, Evlene, Evlin, Evlina, Evline, Evlyn, Evlynn, Evlynne, and Ewalina. Other English forms include the shortening Eve (also used in French), the diminutives Evie (also used in Spanish, and Hungarian) and Evvie, and the spelling variants Evelin (also used in German), Evelyne, and Evelynne.

Forms used in foreign languages include Avelina (Spanish), Eibhlhin (Gaelic), Eileen (Gaelic), Eveliina (Finnish), and Ewelina (Polish).


See also the related forms, the German Ava and the Gaelic Eibhilin.

See also the related categories, english, hebrew, silent, bird, diminutive, irish, literature, french, and gaelic.

Evelyn is very 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 2018, it ranked at #10 with a usage of 0.562%, having regained some lost ground in the recent decade. Among all girl names in its family, Evelyn was the most popular. Evelyn was thrice as popular as the 2nd most popular name, Eva, in 2018. Evelyn has in the last century been mainly given to baby girls. There were 186 times more baby girls than boys who were named Evelyn in 1930.

Baby names that sound like Evelyn include Evlin, Eibhlín, Evaleen, Evalyn, Evelin, Evelyne, Aibhilin, Evalina, Evaline, Evelien, Evelina, Eveline, Ewelina, Abelina, Abellana, Abilana, Abilena, Evelene, Evleen, and Evlene.

† Pronunciation for Evelyn: EH as in "ebb (EH.B)" ; V as in "vow (V.AW)" ; AH as in "mud (M.AH.D)" ; L as in "lay (L.EY)" ; IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)"

Details of famous persons named Evelyn:
Actress Evelyn Laye, born Elsie Evelyn Lay 10 July 1900 - 17 February 1996, Bloomsbury, London, England.
Musician Evelyn Glennie, born Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie July 19, 1965, Aberdeen, Scotland.



Meaning of Evelyn Meaning of Eve Meaning of Evvie Meaning of Evie Meaning of Evelynne Meaning of Evelin Meaning of Evelyne Meaning of Eveline Meaning of Evelynn Meaning of Evilina Meaning of Evlyn Meaning of Evlynn Meaning of Evelina Meaning of Avelina Meaning of Aveline Meaning of Eileen Meaning of Eveleen Meaning of Evalyn Meaning of Evaline Meaning of Eibhilin Meaning of Eva Meaning of Evelyn Meaning of Ava
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