Meaning and history
From an English surname derived from the given name Aveline, Evelyn was first used as a given name in the 17th century and was then more common for boys, though it is now regarded as almost entirely feminine, likely partly because of its resemblance to Eve and Evelina. It was popular across the English-speaking world in the early 20th century, and after a revival in the early 21st century, it returned to the American top ten in 2017.
20062006: 4,751 births, rank #65
2007: 5,054 births, rank #55
2008: 5,101 births, rank #54
2009: 5,584 births, rank #40
2010: 5,843 births, rank #39
20112011: 6,709 births, rank #24
2012: 6,880 births, rank #27
2013: 7,670 births, rank #20
2014: 8,753 births, rank #16
2015: 9,377 births, rank #15
20162016: 10,116 births, rank #12
2017: 10,748 births, rank #9
2018: 10,433 births, rank #10
2019: 10,443 births, rank #10
2020: 9,517 births, rank #9
20212021: 9,495 births, rank #9
2022: 9,332 births, rank #9
2023: 9,121 births, rank #9
2024: 9,146 births, rank #8
20252025: 9,123 births, rank #8
Evelyn has made a dramatic comeback. After first appearing in the US records in 1880, it fell to #289 by 1977, before climbing to #8 in 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1921, with 14,278 births.