Evelyn
Say it: EV-a-lin/ˈɛvəlɪn/
Girl6 letters3 syllables
#94
in Ireland (2025)
52
babies in 2025
#76
best rank (2022)
2,914
babies since 1964
Up 33
10-year rank change
Evelyn through the years
Compare with another name →Show the numbers
| Year | Babies (girls) | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 52 | #94 |
| 2024 | 59 | #84 |
| 2023 | 56 | #90 |
| 2022 | 71 | #76 |
| 2021 | 61 | #90 |
| 2020 | 60 | #91 |
| 2019 | 59 | #97 |
| 2018 | 64 | #96 |
| 2017 | 63 | #95 |
| 2016 | 57 | #101 |
| 2015 | 50 | #127 |
| 2014 | 44 | #133 |
| 2013 | 29 | #197 |
| 2012 | 41 | #141 |
| 2011 | 32 | #185 |
| 2010 | 33 | #184 |
| 2009 | 32 | #190 |
| 2008 | 26 | #212 |
| 2007 | 17 | #267 |
| 2006 | 33 | #152 |
| 2005 | 17 | #232 |
| 2004 | 19 | #207 |
| 2003 | 26 | #162 |
| 2002 | 10 | #312 |
| 2001 | 17 | #213 |
| 2000 | 18 | #195 |
| 1999 | 13 | #233 |
| 1998 | 16 | #197 |
| 1997 | 20 | #219 |
| 1996 | 19 | #212 |
| 1995 | 13 | #261 |
| 1994 | 14 | #240 |
| 1993 | 29 | #159 |
| 1992 | 21 | #197 |
| 1991 | 22 | #191 |
| 1990 | 25 | #190 |
| 1989 | 34 | #148 |
| 1988 | 24 | #185 |
| 1987 | 38 | #143 |
| 1986 | 46 | #129 |
| 1985 | 56 | #118 |
| 1984 | 49 | #133 |
| 1983 | 58 | #117 |
| 1982 | 56 | #135 |
| 1981 | 64 | #121 |
| 1980 | 63 | #123 |
| 1979 | 67 | #118 |
| 1978 | 92 | #85 |
| 1977 | 69 | #114 |
| 1976 | 70 | #113 |
| 1975 | 88 | #94 |
| 1974 | 64 | #122 |
| 1973 | 70 | #120 |
| 1972 | 70 | #111 |
| 1971 | 79 | #107 |
| 1970 | 74 | #107 |
| 1969 | 66 | #107 |
| 1968 | 79 | #85 |
| 1967 | 75 | #90 |
| 1966 | 70 | #90 |
| 1965 | 82 | #78 |
| 1964 | 73 | #83 |
Source: CSO, Irish Babies' Names (VSA50, VSA60), CC BY 4.0.
★ What does Evelyn mean?
Uncertain
English, from the medieval French girls' name Aveline, from a Germanic root of uncertain meaning.
Say it right
EValin
As a man's name in England it was often said EEV-lin.
The story of Evelyn
Evelyn comes from Aveline, a medieval French girls’ name that passed into English. Aveline was a pet form built on a Germanic root whose meaning is not certain; suggestions include “wished for” and “strength”. People have often taken it as a form of Eve, but that is a popular guess rather than its real origin. Evelyn became an English surname, and from the seventeenth century it was used as a first name for both sexes, as with the novelist Evelyn Waugh.
The name has a real Irish connection. Irish borrowed Evelyn in the Middle Ages as Eibhlín, and Eibhlín in turn gave English the name Eileen.
In Ireland Evelyn was a steady name in the 1960s and 1970s, with the most babies in 1978, when 92 girls were named Evelyn. It then became quite rare before a revival after 2010. Its best rank was number 76 in 2022, and it was number 94 in 2025.
Say it differently where you're from, or spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Sources
- Wiktionary: Evelyn (English proper noun)
- Wiktionary: Eibhlín (Irish proper noun)
- Wikipedia: Evelyn (name)
- CSO VSA60, Girls Names in Ireland with 3 or More Occurrences
At a glance
Similar names
Sibling ideas
Nicknames
EvieEve
Spellings counted here
| Spelling | 2025 | All years |
|---|---|---|
| Evelyn | 52 | 2,914 |
In Northern Ireland
#96 in 2025 with 21 babies. Best rank #75 (2024); 268 babies since 1997.
Source: NISRA, Open Government Licence.