From the Norman surname Aveline, a diminutive of Avila — desired; hazelnut. Used for boys in Britain into the 1900s before settling as a girl's name in America.
Evelyn ranks 8th among American girls in 2025, with 9,131 born that year. Its best year was 1921, when 14,308 babies were given the name, ranking 12th. The typical living American called Evelyn is about 25 years old today. It is relatively most common in Vermont, where it accounts for 1.24% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.