Evelyn
Meaning of Evelyn
Evelyn, pronounced EV-lin, began as an English surname that traveled back through Norman French to the medieval name Aveline—ultimately linked to the Germanic root “avi,” interpreted by scholars as “desired” or “strength.” The name crossed the Atlantic with early settlers, flourished during the Jazz Age, slipped quietly down the charts mid-century, and then staged a swift comeback: U.S. data show it rocketing from rank 278 in 1980 to a steady place inside the Top 10 since 2017. In Spanish-speaking circles, especially in the Caribbean and Mexico, Evelyn is embraced without translation, adding a cosmopolitan touch that bridges Anglo and Latino cultures. Literary references range from Evelyn Waugh’s sharp prose—reminding readers the name was once unisex—to modern children’s books where Evelyn evokes gentleness and resilience. Parents today cite its vintage elegance, concise sound, and cross-cultural ease as reasons for choosing it, making Evelyn a name that feels both timeless and unmistakably current.
Pronunciation
American English
- Pronunced as EV-lin (/ ˈɛv.lɪn /)
U.S. Popularity Chart
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Notable People Named Evelyn
| Evelyn Waugh was an English novelist, biographer, and travel writer, as well as a prolific journalist and critic, best known for Decline and Fall, A Handful of Dust, Brideshead Revisited, and the Sword of Honour trilogy, and widely regarded as one of the great 20th century prose stylists. |
| Evelyn Underhill was an English writer and pacifist best known for her studies of Christian mysticism, especially the 1911 classic Mysticism. |
| Florence Evelyn Nesbit was an American model chorus girl and actress in New York City, remembered for her career and for the 1906 murder of architect Stanford White by her husband Harry Kendall Thaw. |
| Edythe Evelyn Gandy was an American attorney and Democratic politician who became the first woman elected to a statewide constitutional office in Mississippi and served as lieutenant governor from 1976 to 1980. |
| Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, was a British statesman and colonial administrator who, as controller general in 1879 and later agent and consul general from 1883 to 1907, exercised de facto control over Egypt's finances and government during the British occupation. |
| Evelyn Boyd Granville was an American mathematician and computing pioneer who became the second African American woman to earn a math PhD from Yale in 1949 after graduating from Smith College in 1945. |
| Evelyn Glennie is a Scottish percussionist and a 2015 Polar Music Prize laureate. |
| Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire - Evelyn Emily Mary Cavendish, daughter of statesman Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice and wife of Victor Cavendish, became Duchess of Devonshire in 1908 and reorganized the Devonshire estates, overseeing four English houses and an Irish castle. |
| Evelyn Lord Pruitt was an American geographer who edited The Professional Geographer and pioneered remote sensing, coining the term. |
| Evelyn Preer was an African American pioneering screen and stage actress and jazz and blues singer in Hollywood from the late 1910s to the early 1930s, celebrated in the Black community as the First Lady of the Screen. |
| Evelyn Ashford is an American sprinter who won the 1984 Olympic 100 meter title, holds the 60 yard world record, and was the first woman to break 11 seconds at the Olympics. |
| Evelyn Venable was an American actress of the 1930s and 1940s, best known as Grazia in Death Takes a Holiday, the voice and model of the Blue Fairy in the Disney film Pinocchio, and a possible inspiration for the Columbia Pictures logo. |
| Evelyn Brent was an American actress known for her work in film and on stage. |
| Evelyn Florence Terhune was an American foil fencer who competed in individual and team foil at the 1960 Summer Olympics and later served as the longtime head coach of the Fairleigh Dickinson University women's fencing team. |
| Evelyn Ida Morris, also known as Pikelet, is a nonbinary Australian musician from the outer suburbs of Melbourne who uses they them pronouns. |
