Evelyn
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Meaning
traditionally "wished-for child," from the Norman French Aveline, though the root is debated; a surname for centuries and once a boys' name in Britain, it settled into a soft vintage classic that has peaked twice, a century apart
Goes by Evie. See all nicknames
The story
Evelyn descends from Aveline, a name the Normans carried into England, traditionally glossed as wished-for child, though scholars still argue over the root. For centuries it worked mostly as a surname, and in Britain it was long given to boys, the novelist Evelyn Waugh being the famous late example. Its American life belongs to girls, and the curve is a rare double act: a strong first peak in the 1910s and 1920s, a long slide to near silence by the 1960s, then a second climb that carried it even higher by the 2020s. Names that peak twice, a century apart, are unusual, and Evelyn's return rode the same wave that brought back Hazel and Charlotte, grandmothers' names sounding suddenly fresh again. Soft, slightly formal, and easygoing in its nicknames, it has thoroughly earned the second act.
Evelyn's name family
One shared root links 4 names in English.
Shared root: from Norman French Aveline, a double diminutive of Germanic Avila; the Eve-plus-lyn reading came centuries later
The family
More branches
How popular is Evelyn around the world?
In the United States, 55,779 babies were named Evelyn between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 59 girls were registered as Evelyn in 2017.
Evelyn is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, England and Wales, Canada, Montevideo, New Zealand, Norway, Ireland, Mexico City, Scotland, New South Wales, Argentina, Brazil, Austria, Chile, Spain and France.
Evelyn crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 390
In the United States, 55,779 babies were named Evelyn between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Evelyn peaked in the 2020s. Evelyn reached 124,521 US births in the 1920s, its high point before 1930, fell to 10,031 in the 1970s, and was back at 87,075 in the 2010s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 3102017
In South Australia, 59 girls were registered as Evelyn in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 380
In England and Wales, 1,560 girls named Evelyn were born in 2025, the 12th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
1 in 530
In Canada, 688 girls named Evelyn were born in 2024, the 15th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Montevideo City
1 in 5502011
In Montevideo, 44 girls named Evelyn were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New Zealand
1 in 580
In New Zealand, 100 girls named Evelyn were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Norway
1 in 810register 2026
In Norway, 33 girls were given the name Evelyn in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Ireland
1 in 1,000
In Ireland, 52 girls named Evelyn were born in 2025, the 94th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Mexico City City
1 in 1,100
In Mexico City, there were 110 registrations of Evelyn in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (4 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Scotland
1 in 1,200
In Scotland, 37 girls named Evelyn were registered in 2024, the 120th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
New South Wales
#13 · 2025
In New South Wales, 245 girls named Evelyn were registered in 2025, ranked 13th in that year’s top 100 for girls.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Argentina
1 in 2,100
In Argentina, 316 newborns were given the name Evelyn in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
1 in 3,200
At the 2022 census, 63,928 people in Brazil were named Evelyn, the 482nd most common name, with a median age of 16.
Among people named Evelyn living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 3,683 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Austria
1 in 4,000
In Austria, 19 girls named Evelyn were born in 2025, the 290th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Chile
1 in 6,100
In Chile, 29 girls were registered as Evelyn in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Spain
1 in 9,800
In Spain, 4,563 residents are named Evelyn, the 495th most common name among women, with a mean age of 26 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
France
1 in 26,000
In France, about 25 girls named Evelyn were born in 2025, ranked 1,287th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Poland
last on record 2024
Evelyn is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Puerto Rico
last on record 2013
Evelyn is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 94 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Keep exploring
Names like Evelyn · Names that go with Evelyn · Nicknames for Evelyn · Middle names for Evelyn · The hundred-year rule
The Evelyn deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Evelyn truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Evelyn fits with your family’s names and surname.
Questions about Evelyn
Does Evelyn really mean “wished-for child”?
No. Evelyn is an English surname turned given name, and the surname came from Aveline, the Norman French form of the Germanic Avelina, a pet form of Avila whose own meaning is unclear. Wished-for child is a modern gloss that no root supports. The name began as a boys' name in the 17th century and is now almost entirely feminine.
Source: Behind the Name (Evelyn) · Behind the Name (Aveline)
What middle names go with Evelyn?
Dawn (a single beat to anchor Evelyn's 3), Paige (a single beat to anchor Evelyn's 3), and Dee (a single beat to anchor Evelyn's 3). The full list, each pairing with its reason, is on the middle names page for Evelyn.
Is Evelyn too popular right now?
Evelyn is very common right now and still rising. In US Social Security records since 1890, its score for the 2020s is 10 out of 10, up from 5 in the 2000s. The 2020s are its peak so far. Before the 2000s it appears in every decade of the published lists, from 5,648 girls in its thinnest decade to 124,166 in the 1920s.
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