Evelyn
Evelyn was given to 9,123 girls in 2025, #8 among girls’ names; 641,662 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 311,000 Americans named Evelyn and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (48% of everyone recorded); the median is 19 years old and half are between 9 and 65.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Evelyn by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Evelyn mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Evelyn is “a female given name from the Germanic languages.” Its etymology gives the senses “desired, wished for“ (compare Latin avēre, “to wish for” (possibly) and “strength” (aval).
Also “a male given name transferred from the surname.”
From Middle English forms of the Old French female name Aveline, diminutive of the Germanic root *avi-, of uncertain meaning, possibly “desired, wished for“ (compare Latin avēre, “to wish for”) or aval “strength”. By folk etymology also misunderstood as a diminutive of the feminine given name Eve, q.v. Doublet of Eileen. Also compare Ava.
/ˈɛvəlɪn/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Evelyn?
#8 among girls’ names, 2025
Evelyn rose from #15 in 2015 to #8 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 5.3 to 5.7 per 1,000.
14,308 babies in 1921, the peak
Evelyn peaked in 1921, when 14,308 babies were given it (14,278 girls, #12 among girls’ names). The 9,131 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 64% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9,123 | #8 | 5.7 |
| 2024 | 9,146 | #8 | 5.6 |
| 2023 | 9,121 | #9 | 5.7 |
| 2022 | 9,332 | #9 | 5.7 |
| 2021 | 9,495 | #9 | 5.8 |
| 2020 | 9,517 | #9 | 5.9 |
| 2019 | 10,443 | #10 | 6.2 |
| 2018 | 10,433 | #10 | 6.1 |
| 2017 | 10,748 | #9 | 6.2 |
| 2016 | 10,116 | #12 | 5.7 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 9,377 | #15 | 5.3 |
| 2014 | 8,753 | #16 | 4.9 |
| 2013 | 7,670 | #20 | 4.4 |
| 2012 | 6,880 | #27 | 3.9 |
| 2011 | 6,709 | #24 | 3.8 |
| 2010 | 5,843 | #39 | 3.3 |
| 2009 | 5,584 | #40 | 3.0 |
| 2008 | 5,101 | #54 | 2.7 |
| 2007 | 5,054 | #55 | 2.6 |
| 2006 | 4,751 | #65 | 2.5 |
| 2005 | 4,490 | #71 | 2.4 |
| 2004 | 3,763 | #84 | 2.0 |
| 2003 | 3,701 | #88 | 2.0 |
| 2002 | 3,372 | #98 | 1.9 |
| 2001 | 2,691 | #126 | 1.5 |
| 2000 | 2,223 | #150 | 1.2 |
| 1999 | 1,964 | #161 | 1.1 |
| 1998 | 1,707 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1997 | 1,572 | #191 | 0.90 |
| 1996 | 1,596 | #188 | 0.91 |
| 1995 | 1,508 | #196 | 0.86 |
| 1994 | 1,452 | #201 | 0.81 |
| 1993 | 1,347 | #211 | 0.74 |
| 1992 | 1,411 | #203 | 0.77 |
| 1991 | 1,269 | #222 | 0.68 |
| 1990 | 1,302 | #220 | 0.69 |
| 1989 | 1,171 | #235 | 0.64 |
| 1988 | 1,124 | #235 | 0.63 |
| 1987 | 1,011 | #253 | 0.58 |
| 1986 | 1,081 | #240 | 0.63 |
| 1985 | 1,132 | #229 | 0.66 |
| 1984 | 1,050 | #239 | 0.62 |
| 1983 | 1,139 | #222 | 0.68 |
| 1982 | 1,377 | #197 | 0.81 |
| 1981 | 1,032 | #243 | 0.62 |
| 1980 | 861 | #288 | 0.52 |
| 1979 | 851 | #287 | 0.53 |
| 1978 | 820 | #283 | 0.54 |
| 1977 | 832 | #289 | 0.54 |
| 1976 | 819 | #280 | 0.56 |
| 1975 | 868 | #280 | 0.60 |
| 1974 | 942 | #270 | 0.64 |
| 1973 | 1,015 | #249 | 0.70 |
| 1972 | 1,060 | #254 | 0.70 |
| 1971 | 1,301 | #231 | 0.78 |
| 1970 | 1,466 | #216 | 0.84 |
| 1969 | 1,452 | #215 | 0.86 |
| 1968 | 1,645 | #192 | 1.0 |
| 1967 | 1,723 | #184 | 1.0 |
| 1966 | 1,872 | #176 | 1.1 |
| 1965 | 2,003 | #176 | 1.1 |
| 1964 | 2,380 | #162 | 1.3 |
| 1963 | 2,567 | #159 | 1.3 |
| 1962 | 2,780 | #153 | 1.4 |
| 1961 | 2,941 | #146 | 1.5 |
| 1960 | 3,219 | #137 | 1.6 |
| 1959 | 3,265 | #134 | 1.6 |
| 1958 | 3,275 | #134 | 1.6 |
| 1957 | 3,640 | #125 | 1.8 |
| 1956 | 3,748 | #120 | 1.9 |
| 1955 | 3,805 | #112 | 1.9 |
| 1954 | 3,952 | #109 | 2.0 |
| 1953 | 4,064 | #94 | 2.2 |
| 1952 | 4,155 | #90 | 2.2 |
| 1951 | 4,232 | #88 | 2.3 |
| 1950 | 4,275 | #86 | 2.5 |
| 1949 | 4,529 | #80 | 2.6 |
| 1948 | 4,840 | #74 | 2.9 |
| 1947 | 5,243 | #72 | 3.0 |
| 1946 | 4,890 | #65 | 3.1 |
| 1945 | 4,377 | #57 | 3.3 |
| 1944 | 4,516 | #57 | 3.4 |
| 1943 | 4,912 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1942 | 4,940 | #53 | 3.7 |
| 1941 | 4,928 | #50 | 4.1 |
| 1940 | 4,982 | #48 | 4.4 |
| 1939 | 5,332 | #40 | 4.9 |
| 1938 | 5,688 | #38 | 5.2 |
| 1937 | 5,760 | #36 | 5.4 |
| 1936 | 6,108 | #34 | 5.9 |
| 1935 | 6,560 | #31 | 6.3 |
| 1934 | 6,983 | #29 | 6.7 |
| 1933 | 6,947 | #30 | 6.9 |
| 1932 | 7,958 | #23 | 7.5 |
| 1931 | 8,492 | #24 | 8.0 |
| 1930 | 9,536 | #19 | 8.5 |
| 1929 | 9,886 | #19 | 8.9 |
| 1928 | 10,533 | #17 | 9.1 |
| 1927 | 11,495 | #15 | 9.6 |
| 1926 | 11,780 | #13 | 9.9 |
| 1925 | 12,505 | #12 | 10.3 |
| 1924 | 13,358 | #12 | 10.7 |
| 1923 | 13,173 | #12 | 10.9 |
| 1922 | 13,320 | #13 | 11.1 |
| 1921 | 14,278 | #12 | 11.6 |
| 1920 | 13,838 | #12 | 11.5 |
| 1919 | 13,321 | #11 | 11.8 |
| 1918 | 13,493 | #11 | 11.7 |
| 1917 | 12,532 | #11 | 11.6 |
| 1916 | 11,889 | #11 | 11.4 |
| 1915 | 11,595 | #10 | 11.8 |
| 1914 | 8,506 | #11 | 11.2 |
| 1913 | 6,683 | #12 | 10.7 |
| 1912 | 5,620 | #13 | 10.1 |
| 1911 | 4,076 | #16 | 9.7 |
| 1910 | 3,777 | #17 | 9.5 |
| 1909 | 3,157 | #18 | 9.1 |
| 1908 | 2,857 | #20 | 8.5 |
| 1907 | 3,035 | #18 | 9.5 |
| 1906 | 2,077 | #32 | 7.0 |
| 1905 | 1,661 | #46 | 5.7 |
| 1904 | 1,372 | #50 | 5.0 |
| 1903 | 1,211 | #54 | 4.6 |
| 1902 | 1,151 | #59 | 4.4 |
| 1901 | 966 | #62 | 4.0 |
| 1900 | 1,116 | #70 | 3.7 |
| 1899 | 802 | #74 | 3.4 |
| 1898 | 836 | #76 | 3.2 |
| 1897 | 690 | #80 | 2.9 |
| 1896 | 646 | #84 | 2.7 |
| 1895 | 630 | #87 | 2.7 |
| 1894 | 491 | #99 | 2.2 |
| 1893 | 457 | #104 | 2.1 |
| 1892 | 418 | #106 | 2.0 |
| 1891 | 362 | #109 | 2.0 |
| 1890 | 316 | #125 | 1.7 |
| 1889 | 320 | #118 | 1.8 |
| 1888 | 237 | #139 | 1.3 |
| 1887 | 194 | #135 | 1.3 |
| 1886 | 203 | #135 | 1.4 |
| 1885 | 191 | #131 | 1.4 |
| 1884 | 170 | #134 | 1.3 |
| 1883 | 139 | #141 | 1.2 |
| 1882 | 125 | #142 | 1.2 |
| 1881 | 116 | #135 | 1.3 |
| 1880 | 122 | #133 | 1.3 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Evelyn a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Evelyn has been given almost only to girls: 1,906 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Evelyn: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Evelyn, and how old are they?
311,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 48% of the 641,662 Americans ever recorded as Evelyn. The median Evelyn alive today is 19 years old; half are between 9 and 65.
The 2020 Census counted 293,621 people named Evelyn (293,177 women and girls, 444 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 292,682 born in the U.S. The Census count matches that prediction to within 1%.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 29,600 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 54,700 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 18,100 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 19,700 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 64,900 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 123,000 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Evelyn born?
The states with the most babies named Evelyn are New York, California and Texas, with 24% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 51,668 | #24 | 1.0× |
| California | 51,375 | #17 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 41,857 | #13 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 34,063 | #8 | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 32,285 | #10 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 26,981 | #4 | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 20,334 | #5 | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 19,721 | #9 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 19,660 | #8 | 1.0× |
| Virginia | 16,932 | #7 | 1.1× |
Where Evelyn is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Evelyn is most over-represented in California: since 1910 it was given 1.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Evelyn with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 679,890 babies since 1880, Evelyn is the most given (94% of them). In 2025 it was given to 9,131 of their 10,544 babies (87%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Evelyn
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Evelyn and names like it
- Compare Evelyn and EvelynnBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sEvelyn peaked in 1921.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Evelyn since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Evelyn: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Evelyn.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Evelyn alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with EMost given first.