Evelyn

EV-uh-lin or EEV-lin

English from French and German

"desired; or water, island"

Evelyn Origin and Meaning

The name Evelyn is a girl's name of English origin meaning "desired; or water, island".

After decades of disuse, soft and feminine Evelyn has returned to the baby name stage in a huge way. It reached the Top 10 for the first time in 2017. Evelyn has now surpassed its former heights, joining a legion of contemporary little Evas, Avas, Eves, Evies, and Evelines.

Evelyn derives from the French feminine given name Aveline, which is from an obscure Germanic root which may mean "desired, wished for" or "water, island". The name Aveline was brought over to England by the Normans, but it first became popular as a masculine name – a transferred use of the surname Evelyn, which comes from the same source. Variations include Evaline, Evalyn, Evelin, and Eveline.

Formerly a predominantly masculine name, its most famous bearer is writer Evelyn (EEV-lin) Waugh. (Trivia note: Evelyn Waugh was married to a woman named Evelyn, and they were known as 'He-velyn" and "She-velyn'.) Its quiet persona was reversed with the character Evelyn Salt, played by Angelina Jolie. Bruce Willis chose it for his fifth daughter and Carey Mulligan used it for hers.

Evelyn Rank in US Top 1000

# 9 in the US

Evelyn Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 30 on Nameberry

Evelyn Popularity

• 9 US 2023
• 30 Nameberry 2024
• 15 Canada 2023
• 6 Future 2028
• 22 England 2022
• 75 Scotland 2023
• 91 Ireland 2023
• 14 Australia 2023
• 12 New Zealand 2023
• 178 Germany 2016
• 35 Mexico 2021

20 Names Similar to Evelyn

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Evelyn.

• Eleanor
• Amelia
• Charlotte
• Adeline
• Adelaide
• Audrey
• Alice
• Nora
• Eloise
• Clara
• Elizabeth
• Grace
• Hazel
• Cora
• Josephine
• Claire
• Aurora
• Evangeline
• Genevieve
• Ava

Famous People Named Evelyn

• Evelyn Ashford American Olympic sprinter
• Evelyn Margaret Ay Miss America 1954
• Evelyn Louise Keyes American actress
• Evelyn Brent (born Mary Elizabeth Riggs) American actress
• Evelyn "Champagne" King American R&B singer
• Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie Scottish percussionist
• Evelyn Beatrice Longman American sculptor
• (Florence) Evelyn Nesbit American model; wife of architect Stanford White
• Ellen Lucille "Evelyn" Thomas American disco singer
• Evelyn Stevens American cyclist
• Evelyn Lozada American reality television personality ("Basketball Wives")
• Evelyn Murphy 67th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
• Evelyn Ward American actress; mother of singer David Cassidy
• Evelyn M. Witkin American geneticist
• Evelyn Lear American operatic soprano
• Evelyn Mase first wife of Nelson Mandela
• (Elsie) Evelyn Laye English actress
• Evelyn García (Marroquín) Salvadoran cyclist
• Evelyn O'Rourke Irish broadcaster
• Evelyn Verrasztó Hungarian Olympic swimmer
• Evelyn Lee Marie "Everlyn" Sampi Australian actress
• Evelyn Knight known for her involvement in the Abscam sting operation
• Evelyn Knight American pop singer
• Evelyn Francis McHale American subject of a 1947 photograph depicting "the most beautiful suicide"
• Evelyn McGee Colbert, wife of TV personality Stephen Colbert
• Evelyn Day Bentley (b. 2008) daughter of singer Dierks Bentley & Cassidy Black
• Evelyn Gabel (b. 2009) daughter of singer Laura Jane Grace & Heather Hannoura
• Evelyn Tierney daughter of actors Indira Varma and Colin Tierney
• Evelyn Morneau (b. 2010) son of baseball player Justin Morneau
• Evelyn Penn Willis (b. 2014) daughter of actor Bruce Willis
• Evelyn Grace Mumford (b. 2015) daughter of singer Marcus Mumford and actress Carey Mulligan
• Evelyn Renee Flacco (b. 2016) daughter of NFL player Joe Flacco
• Evelyn Mae Forsyth (b. 2020) daughter of reality tv personalities Joy Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth of “Counting On”

Evelyn in Pop Culture

• Evelyn Robin character in "Winnie,the,Pooh" series
• Evelyn Mulwray character in 1974 film "Chinatown"
• Evelyn Salt main character in film "Salt"
• Evelyn Smythe audio companion of the Sixth Doctor from Doctor Who
• Evelyn character in film "The Ring 2"
• Evelyn "Evie" Carnahan character in film "The Mummy"
• Evelyn Gardener character in film "A League of Their Own"
• Evelyn Johnson a main character in 2004 film "Pearl Harbor"
• Evelyn Eaton character in the Divergent Trilogy
• Evelyn Harper character on TV's 'Two and a Half Men'
• Evelyn Vogel character on TV's "Dexter"
• Evelyn "Button" Peters main character in"The Book of Bright Ideas" by Sandra Kring
• Evelyn Peerbaugh character in the 'Sister Circle' series
• Evelyn Couch character in Fannie Flagg's "Fried Green Tomatoes"
• Evelyn "Eva" Leland character in the Elsie Dinsmore series
• Evelyn "Artemis" Sharp Character from DC Television Universe's "Arrow"
• Evelyn Ferrars mother of Juliette Ferrars from Tahereh Mafi's "Shatter me" trilogy
• Crabtree and Evelyn retailer of bath and body products
• Evelyn Deavor character in "Incredibles 2"
• Evelyn and Evelyn Neville fictional conjoined twin sisters portrayed by Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley as a musical duo
• Evelyn Hugo main character of "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo"