Evelyn Name Meaning

A derivative of the surname Aveline, Evelyn is a surprise unisex moniker, though much more popular among little girls these days. With a meaning like beauty or beautiful bird, she has a background as lovely as she is.

Evelyn managed to crack the U.S. Top 10 for the first time since 1915 in 2017 thanks to her old-school charm and mega-popular -lyn ending that fits in with the likes of Madelyn and Adelyn. She also has the trendy V sound we see in popular choices Olivia and Ava. Evelyn is undoubtedly feminine for those on the fence because of her masculine history, easily holding her own in a sea of ultra-girly monikers like Isabella or Sophia thanks to her delicate sound.

For parents all about the surname as a first name trend but feeling iffy about using traditional surnames like Spencer or Mavis, Evelyn is the perfect solution to your conundrum. She is technically a surname, though much more recognizable today as a first name.

Evelyn is also bursting with nickname options including Evy, Ev, and Lynn. Related Ev- names include Evelina, Eva, Eve, and Evie. Charlotte, Amelia, and Violet are names with a similar charm to Evelyn.

Infographic of Evelyn name meaning, which is Derived from the surname Aveline meaning hazelnut in modern French and desired one in ancient Germanic, Evelyn is an English name.
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Evelyn Name Popularity

How popular is the name Evelyn? Here’s everything we know.

Year Rank # Births % Births
1910 17 3,766 1.0696%
1911 16 4,057 1.0895%
1912 13 5,618 1.114%
1913 12 6,680 1.1782%
1914 11 8,504 1.2203%
1915 10 11,594 1.2761%
1916 11 11,889 1.2308%
1917 11 12,529 1.2524%
1918 11 13,486 1.2566%
1919 11 13,321 1.2722%
1920 12 13,832 1.244%
1921 12 14,275 1.2466%
1922 13 13,314 1.1951%
1923 12 13,173 1.1761%
1924 12 13,354 1.15%
1925 12 12,503 1.1062%
1926 13 11,776 1.0707%
1927 15 11,497 1.0386%
1928 17 10,532 0.9843%
1929 19 9,879 0.9538%
1930 19 9,536 0.9129%
1931 24 8,487 0.8599%
1932 23 7,958 0.8055%
1933 30 6,944 0.7453%
1934 29 6,978 0.7218%
1935 31 6,559 0.6749%
1936 34 6,108 0.6341%
1937 36 5,752 0.5837%
1938 38 5,690 0.5558%
1939 40 5,324 0.5234%
1940 48 4,981 0.4686%
1941 50 4,927 0.4378%
1942 53 4,936 0.3909%
1943 53 4,908 0.376%
1944 57 4,508 0.3637%
1945 57 4,370 0.3583%
1946 65 4,886 0.3311%
1947 72 5,240 0.3139%
1948 74 4,840 0.3032%
1949 80 4,522 0.2811%
1950 86 4,269 0.2651%
1951 88 4,226 0.2492%
1952 90 4,149 0.2377%
1953 94 4,056 0.2292%
1954 110 3,943 0.2157%
1955 112 3,808 0.207%
1956 120 3,739 0.198%
1957 125 3,625 0.1884%
1958 134 3,259 0.1724%
1959 134 3,259 0.1715%
1960 137 3,216 0.1697%
1961 146 2,927 0.155%
1962 153 2,761 0.1504%
1963 159 2,547 0.1419%
1964 163 2,360 0.1341%
1965 176 1,971 0.1205%
1966 177 1,840 0.1178%
1967 184 1,700 0.112%
1968 192 1,611 0.1073%
1969 214 1,422 0.0923%
1970 214 1,443 0.0907%
1971 233 1,260 0.0839%
1972 254 1,032 0.0758%
1973 249 983 0.0758%
1974 273 903 0.0695%
1975 278 832 0.0647%
1976 283 782 0.0607%
1977 288 800 0.0593%
1978 283 794 0.0591%
1979 285 828 0.0587%
1980 290 826 0.0565%
1981 246 982 0.0668%
1982 198 1,348 0.0902%
1983 222 1,104 0.0748%
1984 243 1,012 0.068%
1985 230 1,094 0.0721%
1986 242 1,044 0.0692%
1987 255 966 0.0633%
1988 238 1,082 0.0694%
1989 240 1,119 0.0693%
1990 222 1,254 0.0757%
1991 224 1,240 0.0761%
1992 202 1,390 0.0871%
1993 212 1,321 0.0847%
1994 202 1,413 0.0921%
1995 196 1,477 0.098%
1996 190 1,552 0.1037%
1997 192 1,545 0.1045%
1998 179 1,683 0.1124%
1999 163 1,928 0.1287%
2000 150 2,205 0.1443%
2001 127 2,669 0.1771%
2002 98 3,358 0.2241%
2003 88 3,685 0.2422%
2004 84 3,751 0.2461%
2005 71 4,484 0.2933%
2006 65 4,741 0.3028%
2007 55 5,052 0.3202%
2008 54 5,098 0.3298%
2009 40 5,583 0.3735%
2010 39 5,840 0.4053%
2011 24 6,707 0.4708%
2012 27 6,876 0.4825%
2013 20 7,659 0.5379%
2014 16 8,739 0.5998%
2015 15 9,358 0.6431%
2016 12 10,096 0.7002%
2017 9 10,675 0.7648%
2018 10 10,376 0.7552%
2019 10 10,392 0.7677%
2020 9 9,225 0.7247%
2021 9 8,891 0.7273%
2022 9 9,289 0.7041%

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Data via SSA.gov.


Names Like Evelyn

If you like Evelyn, you’ll love these other names like Evelyn.


What names are diminutives of Evelyn?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Evelyn sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Evelyn, but shorter.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Eva

Life

Hebrew

Eve

Life, animal

Latin

Evie

Life

English

Lynn

Lake", "waterfall" or "pool", and probably would have been given to a family living near such a body of water. Sometimes used as a diminutive of Linda (Spanish) "pretty

Spanish


What names are variants of Evelyn?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Evelyn.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Aveline

Hazelnut

French

Evalyn
Evelien

Form of Evelyn

Dutch

Evelin
Evelina

A variant form of Eveline.

Latin

Evelynn

Desired one

English

Evelynne

What names sound like Evelyn?

If you like how Evelyn sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Evelyn.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Adeline

Noble one

German

Avril

To open

Latin

Emerson

Son of Emery

English

Evangeline

Good news

English

Madeline

Woman from Magdala

English


What names are similar to Evelyn?

Find a name that’s like Evelyn, but just a little bit different.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Adelaide

Noble one

German

Charlotte

Free man

French

Diana

Heavenly and divine

Latin

Eleanor

Of unknown meaning

English

Elizabeth

God is my oath

Hebrew

Ellen

Sun ray, shining light

Greek

Hannah

Grace

Hebrew

Helena

Sun ray, shining light

Greek

Ruby

Red gemstone

English

Sarah

Princess

Hebrew


Lists With Evelyn

Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Evelyn.


Siblings of Evelyn

Mamas with kids named Evelyn also have kids with these names.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Amelia

Work

German

Ethan

Enduring and strong

Hebrew

Caleb

Whole heart

Hebrew

Dalton

Valley town

English

Wyatt

Brave in battle

English

Cristian

Follower of Christ

English

Johana

God is gracious

Hebrew

Eliza

God is my oath

English

Jesse

Gift

Hebrew

Samuel

Name of God

Hebrew

Lorelei

“The enchantress,” in allusion to the siren of German legend whose singing on reefs in the Rhine lured sailors to their doom.

German

58 Comments

  1. My grandmothers name is Evelyn. Evelyn means “desired child” and “little bird”.

  2. Evelyn is my mom’s middle name, which was her grandma’s name. So it’s a special family name for us!

  3. My husband and I love vintage names, and I had always liked the name Evelyn. Every Evelyn I’ve met has been a very sweet, kind lady so I thought I couldn’t go wrong naming my baby girl Evelyn too.

  4. My husband loved the Mummy, but I also really loved the name. So it was a mutual agreement ?

  5. I wanted something that was elegant and timeless and I love everything about it.

  6. I am Evelyn Ann and was named after my Mom’s Sister and my Godmother. When I was a child in the 60’s -70’s it was not a common name but since I am older I have realized the significance of the name as well as the versatility being nicknamed ‘Ev or Evie’.
    Feeling it is now a Classic, Untimely Name and feel fortunate!

  7. This name sounds very romantic and feminine. It was well received when we floated it as a possibility to friends and family. Whenever we tell people Evelyn’s name, we get compliments. It’s also a fun name to nickname…we like Evie.

  8. We named our little girl after my husband’s grandmother. She is one of the sweetest people I know. It is a classic name.

    • I love my name sooo much!

  9. I love the name Evelyn because it sounds so beautiful and dainty, it has a cute nickname (Evie), it’s modern but also traditional so it makes everyone (young or old) happy to hear it, and the main reason we love the name Evelyn and named our daughter Evelyn was because it means “desired one” or “wished for child” which was certainly true. We really wanted to have a baby and she’s been such a blessing to us.

  10. Evelyn was first picked by my husband, we both fell in love with it .

  11. Means “child wished for” and after we had tried for so long to have another, she came along!!

  12. 3 reasons we chose this name…

    1. She is named after a woman who is like a grandmother to me.

    2. The meaning of the name spoke to us, she definetly was a “wished for child”.

    3. Her nickname is Evee, after the pokemon Eevee ?

  13. We love that Evelyn means “life”. Another meaning we found is “longed-for child.”

    • That’s cool.

  14. love the name!! also love the nickname Evie and velyn.

  15. We liked the name Evie but wanted it to be a nick name.

  16. Evelyn is a timeless name and matures with a person as they grow. Nick names like Evie or Eve are cute and appropriate for young childhood or middle childhood and Evelyn is a more unique, strong name that can be used as an adult.
    I love the sound of the full name, but also the simplicity of the nick names (Like Eve).

  17. I looked through thousands of names and Evelyn was and Evelyn was one of the only ones I really liked. Didn’t. It also didn’t have any previous associations like other names. I like how it starts with an E and I like the soft sound of it.

  18. We chose Evelyn because in our area it’s not a common name and it’s old fashioned without being too out there. Also when we found out one of the meanings of the name is “wished for child” it was too perfect as we’ve been waiting for her for 13 years.

  19. My husband woke up in the middle of the night with the name Evelyn Grace and suggested Evie as a nickname. We both loved it!

  20. We heard the name Evelyn on a stream my partner was watching at the time, well, actually, we heard the nickname; Evie & I originally wanted to name her Evie because I just loved the way it sounded, but my partner said we couldn’t give her a nickname for a name, so we after much debating & negotiation, we finally agreed upon Evelyn. Later, we discovered that Evelyn is actually his mother’s middle name & it was also the name of his great grandmother (Mum’s, Mum’s Mum), which made it all the more perfect for our little family. I love how adorable the nickname sounds & how professional (even if it is a little ‘old fashioned’) the name Evelyn sounds.

  21. My daughter inherited her name from her late Great Grand Mother.
    I love that it’s beautiful and timeless.
    It also complements her big sister’s name Aralynn

  22. We chose Evelyn because we had been TTC for over a year and when we found out I was pregnant with a girl, we started looking at names and meanings. Evelyn means “wished for child” and thought it was perfect considering how she got here. We are still grateful for our little wishes for child!

  23. My daughter is Evelyn Rosemary. Her older brothers are Isaac William and Arthur Robin. Simply known as Isaac, Arthur and Evelyn. I love our little Evelyn’s name. It’s classic, fairly short and not very sweet or cute. I feel it’s a lovely name for a child or an adult. When we picked it we didn’t know there had been an Evelyn in the family so were surprised to find out there had been. Rosemary is after her granny who died before we had children.

  24. I chose Evelyn because I heard it on a movie and thought how classy and elegant it sounded. I love old fashioned names and I new this was the name I wanted for her.

  25. Our first daughter’s name is Amelia and we wanted to stick with vintage names with our second. I’ve always thought Evelyn was a very pretty name and my husband agreed, so it stuck!

    • My name is actually Evelyn

      • Hi Evelyn, I’m Evelyn ! ?

      • I’m a Evelyn too!! ??

        • I am Evelyn too! Hi!

          • I’m Evelyn too. Whats up

  26. It’s my husband’s grandmother’s name, and I like that it’s classic, and feminine, but also strong and not too girly.

  27. We thought long and hard.We wanted a name that would grow with our little girl–one that wasn’t too cutesy, but also wasn’t so old that it hung like an oversized shirt. Evelyn sounded regal while still being accessible, and its diminutives (e.g. Evie, Eve, Lyn) were all sweet and fun.

  28. Family name

  29. My granny’s name was Sarah Evelyn but she always went by Evelyn. She had a huge impact on my life, and she passed away at the age of 97 years old back in 2012. Ever since she passed, I told myself my first girls name would be Evelyn.

    • My name is evelyn and I love the name meaning my life
      is popular

  30. This was the only name my husband and I could agree on. Her middle name is Joan after his grandmother. And we didn’t know until we shared the name with his parents, but his great grandmothers name was Evelyn. So we unintentionally named her after two grandmas.

  31. We chose Evelyn after my grandmother.

  32. Her nickname is Evy

  33. Loved Eve or Evie for Nick name

  34. I stuck to e names. My first is emma grace. This one is Evelyn Rose

  35. We first picked the name Evelyn after my grandmother who passed away a couple of years ago. We also just love old names! We paired it with June after my husbands grandmother.
    Something I don’t love about her name is that people try to shorten it to Evie. I don’t mind that name but we named her Evelyn and I don’t want it to be shortened.

  36. I named Evelyn after her great grandma I love older names that have strong meaning

  37. So many people in my generation are naming their children very obscure unique things just for the sake of being different. We wanted to name our daughter something feminine and that you don’t hear all the time without naming her something crazy unique like everyone else these days. We decided to go classic. Evelyn is a classic older name that’s coming back. It’s elegant and can also be shortened for a nickname. We are calling her Evie (EE-Vee) while she’s young. Ifs cute and short and easy and then as she gets older she’ll have a longer more classic feminine name to go by.

  38. We are a religious family and liked the name Eve. I liked Eve because she was the first mother, mother of all life. But our last name is Adams and I thought Eve Adams sounded kinda tacky. So we named her Evelyn and will just call her Eve or Evie as a nickname.

  39. I absolutely love the name Evelyn. I know no one by this name is the main reason I chose it. Come to find out my maternal grandfathers mother’s name was Evelyn and she had a sister named Louise. So I guess it’s just a family thing. 🙂

  40. My husband and I like more classic names so we choose Evelyn.

  41. I chose that name because it was my grandmother’s <3 I love it because I think it is timeless and classic and beautiful!

  42. Named after her great-grandmother (my maternal grandmother) who will turn 100 this year.

  43. Her full name is Evelyn Margaret. It was my great grandmothers name. My mother and I both have the middle name Margaret. I love it. Only issue is that my husband and I can not agree on the pronunciation of her nickname! We call her Evie. I say it “Ehh-vee” and he thinks it should be “Eee-vee”. So in the meantime we just tell everyone Evelyn.

  44. Evelyn is my rainbow baby. She was born just a year after her older sister, Abigail, was stillborn at nearly 42 weeks gestation.

    During my pregnancy with her, my husband and I struggled to even talk about names. We had one name that we talked about (Charlotte) but we had decided we weren’t naming the baby until she was born.
    That turned out to be the right decision, because when we first laid eyes on our beautiful little rainbow, my husband and eye looked at eachother and almost at the same time blurted out that she wasn’t a Charlotte.
    Evelyn popped into my head, and simultaneously popped out of my mouth. My husband immediately agreed, and that was that.
    Three weeks after bringing Evelyn home, I discovered that the name means “wished for child” and I was really struck by that.
    Although she was completely unplanned, the moment I knew she existed, my heart longed to meet her. And after losing her big sister during labor, I wished so strongly for a baby to hold and help heal my heart (I just didn’t intend to have that baby so soon!)

    So, that is how my rainbow baby ended up with her name, and how the name’s meaning was unintentionally perfect for her.

  45. It’s a family name.
    I love the name just dont like people telling me how I should have spelled it.
    I love that we named our daughter after an amazing woman and that it also is a popular name in our family from my great great greats before me.

  46. Evelyn was my grandmother’s name. Her middle name is Rose after my husband’s grandmother. I thought naming her after our grandmothers was a beautiful way to honor them. Also, I’m a teacher and so it was really hard to come up with a name that didn’t feel like I was naming her after a student!

    • I was going to give my daughter the middle name rose but to many people who were pregnant were also doing it so we dropped it and only used judith after grandmother.

  47. We love the meaning: light and life. Also like that it’s old fashioned, and not super crazy, but still different than a lot of names in our area.

  48. Evelyn is my husband’s mother’s name and I think it’s beautiful! It’s becoming a more popular name which I don’t really like.

    We also use a nickname, Evvie (with a short e). The nicknames get confusing and people mispronounce it often. I still love it we just spend a lot of time correcting.

  49. Evelyn means “life”, “little bird”, or “hazelnut”, depending on the origin. We thought she’d be super petite like her big sister, and she turned out to be our chunky one! Good thing the meaning we were going for was “Life”. The name fit well with Amelia, her sibling, and we paired it with the middle name Jane.


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