Evelyn
Top 1000
About Evelyn
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.
Pronounced EV-uh-lin; EEV-lin.
As of October 2026, Evelyn ranked #8 in US births in 2025 SSA, Nameberry popularity #11.
Editor's take: The name Evelyn is a girl's name of English origin meaning "desired; or water, island".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #16 | 8,753 | 4,899.9 |
| 2015 | #15 | 9,376 | 5,252.4 |
| 2016 | #12 | 10,116 | 5,708.7 |
| 2017 | #9 | 10,747 | 6,224.9 |
| 2018 | #10 | 10,432 | 6,132.6 |
| 2019 | #10 | 10,441 | 6,220.9 |
| 2020 | #9 | 9,516 | 5,886.6 |
| 2021 | #9 | 9,489 | 5,782.9 |
| 2022 | #9 | 9,330 | 5,688.6 |
| 2023 | #9 | 9,113 | 5,679.4 |
| 2024 | #8 | 9,116 | 5,626.5 |
| 2025 | #8 | 9,123 | 5,676.1 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Evelyn.
- Amelia
- Audrey
- Nora
- Adeline
- Clara
- Charlotte
- Cora
- Genevive
- Emilia
- Eleanor
- Eliza
- Claire
- Olivia
- Adelaide
- Sophie
- Ella
- Ava
- Eloise
- Lily
- Lucy
Evelyn on lists
Famous Evelyns
- 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"
- Evelyn Parker
character in the video game "Cyberpunk 2077"
- Evelyn Mullner
character in the video game "Stardew Valley"