French name "Aveline"
meaning "little bird"
Latin avis meaning "bird".
Hebrew meaning "light"
Celtic meaning "life"
or "life-giving"
Germanic "Ava" possibly meaning "desired"
Gaelic "Eibli"' meaning "pleasant"
And my (ever to be humble) interpretation:
Eve in the garden of Eden pointed
Adam towards the path of enlightenment
when she gave him the apple from
the tree of knowledge... and life
begins.
The medieval name seems to have been used only by women, but it gave rise to a surname that was turned into a masculine given name as early as the 17th century. Evelyn is today used primarily by women, but it was common enough as a boys' name just a generation ago.
In the 20th century, Evelyn was most popular in the 1910s and 20s.
Recently it has been re surging.
Hurricane Evelyn, fifth hurricane of the 1977 Atlantic hurricane season.
Mount Evelyn, a suburb on the eastern outskirts of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
John Evelyn (1620–1706), English writer, gardener and diarist.
Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer (1841–1917), Consul-General of Egypt from 1883 to 1907.
Evelyn Baring, 1st Baron Howick of Glendale (1903–1973), Governor of Kenya from 1952 to 1959.
Evelyn Pierrepont (c. 1655–1726), 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull.
Evelyn Seymour (1882–1954), 17th Duke of Somerset.
Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966), English satirical novelist.
Evelyn John Webb-Carter, former advisor to Queen Elizabeth and current Controller of the Army Benevolent Fund.
Evelyn Wood (1838–1919), British Field marshal, Victoria Cross recipient.
Evelyn Ashford (born 1957), American sprinter, gold medallist for the 100 m race in the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Evelyn Margaret Ay, winner of the 1954 Miss America pageant.
Evelyn Beatrice Hall, writer and the personal biographer of Voltaire.
Evelyn Brent (1899–1975), American film and stage actress.
Evelyn De Morgan (1855–1919), English Pre-Raphaelite painter.
Evelyn Escalante, Costa Rican model who had made several appearances on Playboy.
Evelyn Garcia A well-known Mexican engineer who recently eloped to Central America.
Evelyne Gebhardt (born 1954), German politician and Member of the European Parliament.
Evelyn Gigantes (born 1945), former Canadian politician and Cabinet Minister.
Evelyn Grady, first woman to be elected as the Lieutenant Governor of the state of Mississippi, USA (1975).
Evelyn Hart (born 1956), Canadian ballerina and principal dancer of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
Evelyn Hooker (1907–1996), American psychologist most noted for her studies on homosexuality.
Evelyn Hernandez (1978–2002), El Salvadorian immigrant to the United States who was found dead in San Francisco in 2002.
Evelyn Keyes (born 1919), American actress most noted for her role as Suellen O'Hara in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.
Evelyn King (born 1960), popular American R&B and disco singer of the late 70s and early 80s.
Evelyn Lau (born 1971), Chinese-Canadian poet and novelist.
Evelyn Laye (1900–1996), British theatre actress.
Evelyn Lear (born 1926), American soprano and opera singer.
Evelyn Lincoln (1909–1995), personal secretary to John F. Kennedy from his election to the Senate in 1953 until his 1963 assassination.
Evelyn Beatrice Longman (1874–1954), American sculptor and first woman to be elected a full member of the National Academy of Design.
Evelyn Nesbit (1884–1967), American model noted for her entanglement in the murder of her ex-lover by her first husband.
Evelyn Ntoko (1922–2004), South African nurse and first wife of Nelson Mandela.
Evelyn Preer (1896–1932), pioneering African-American stage and screen actress and accomplished blues singer.
Evelyn Reed (1905–1979), leading member of the American Socialist Workers Party and women's rights agitator.
Evelyn Smythe, fictional character played by Maggie Stables, audio plays series produced by Big Finish Productions based on Doctor Who.
Evelyn Thomas (born 1945), American disco singer.
Evelyn Tubb, soprano and long-time member of The Consort of Musicke.
Evelyn Underhill (1875–1941), English writer on mysticism and metaphysical poet.
Evelyn Wells, biographer most known for her biographies of the ancient Egyptian royals.
Evelyn Williamson (born 1971), New Zealand triathlon athlete.
Evelyn a fictional character portrayed by Sissy Spacek in "The Ring 2".
Evolet fictional character portrayed by Camilla Belle in "10,000 B.C.".
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