New Post
Search
HelpWhy is Evelyn so much more popular than Evelina?
Yesterday I finished adding together spellings from the SSA data to come up with my own "most popular" lists for the USA in 2023. My column on this will be published Sunday. Here, however, are my top ten for girls in 2023 when I combine spellings:
Sophia, Olivia, Emma, Amelia, Charlotte, Isabella, Mia, Evelyn, Camila, Eliana
In looking at this list it just feels to me like Evelyn is the "odd name out." The first six sound to me like characters in a Jane Austen novel. I can also just imagine a Camila (or Camilla) in the early 19th century. Mia wouldn't have been a given name, but I can imagine it being a pet name for something else in the late 18th or early 19th century, and Eliana, while it really wouldn't have existed back then, at least sounds similar enough to most of the rest that it doesn't seem odd to me as part of the group.
But Evelyn just seems really non-Austen. Ironically, I see that Jane Austen wrote a novel in her youth which is among her lesser known "juvenalia" which were never published until recently, with the title "Evelyn" -- but there Evelyn is the name of a village, not the given name of a woman!
I would expect a character in an Austen novel to be Evelina, not Evelyn. So why is it Evelyn rather than Evelina which is a top ten name in 2023? Evelyn just seems so 1920s (and its previous peak in the USA was about between 1915 and 1922), while Evelina seems like it would fit in so well with Sophia, Olivia, and Emma -- but Evelina isn't even in the SSA top 1000! Any thoughts on why people seem to ignore Evelina and choose Evelyn instead these days?
Sophia, Olivia, Emma, Amelia, Charlotte, Isabella, Mia, Evelyn, Camila, Eliana
In looking at this list it just feels to me like Evelyn is the "odd name out." The first six sound to me like characters in a Jane Austen novel. I can also just imagine a Camila (or Camilla) in the early 19th century. Mia wouldn't have been a given name, but I can imagine it being a pet name for something else in the late 18th or early 19th century, and Eliana, while it really wouldn't have existed back then, at least sounds similar enough to most of the rest that it doesn't seem odd to me as part of the group.
But Evelyn just seems really non-Austen. Ironically, I see that Jane Austen wrote a novel in her youth which is among her lesser known "juvenalia" which were never published until recently, with the title "Evelyn" -- but there Evelyn is the name of a village, not the given name of a woman!
I would expect a character in an Austen novel to be Evelina, not Evelyn. So why is it Evelyn rather than Evelina which is a top ten name in 2023? Evelyn just seems so 1920s (and its previous peak in the USA was about between 1915 and 1922), while Evelina seems like it would fit in so well with Sophia, Olivia, and Emma -- but Evelina isn't even in the SSA top 1000! Any thoughts on why people seem to ignore Evelina and choose Evelyn instead these days?
2
Replies
Evelina is more popular in European countries rather than in America, but it is still not an overwhelmingly common name but most definitely not a Rare name in Russia
Names that aren't traditionally Russian seem to have gained more popularity in Russia in recent years and Evelina is one of them
Names that aren't traditionally Russian seem to have gained more popularity in Russia in recent years and Evelina is one of them
1
Evelyn is an odd duck to me as well. It really does feel oddly out of place with all the fluffy Victorian confections. I guess it is the -lyn ending that people are so mad for... Plus the Eve- beginning is similar to Ava and Avery. Maybe?
Evelina is also probably unknown to most people. Evelyn is kind of a nice middle ground between old fashioned and modern. It's familiar and warmly vintage. Maybe the kids who grew up watching The Mummy are naming their daughters after the plucky heroine! Or, their grandmothers. Not nearly as many Evelinas out there to honour, I'd guess!
Evelina is also probably unknown to most people. Evelyn is kind of a nice middle ground between old fashioned and modern. It's familiar and warmly vintage. Maybe the kids who grew up watching The Mummy are naming their daughters after the plucky heroine! Or, their grandmothers. Not nearly as many Evelinas out there to honour, I'd guess!
5
Evelina doesn’t look Austen-y to me at all. It looks maaaybe late-Victorian, but otherwise more Spanish than English.
3
People like -Lyn names and vintage names. All of the names you listed except Eliana are vintage.
3
I think Charlotte and Evelyn fit well together vibe-wise, and Evelyn fits in well with Olivia and Emma, sound-wise.
I think the reason Evelyn is so popular rather than Evelina is 1. Lyn names are very popular now, 2. Ina names are not. 3. Evelina never got much use anyway. and 4. Evelyn is so similar in sound to other names of that period, like Emma, Ella, Eva, Eleanor, that it's just logical.
I think the reason Evelyn is so popular rather than Evelina is 1. Lyn names are very popular now, 2. Ina names are not. 3. Evelina never got much use anyway. and 4. Evelyn is so similar in sound to other names of that period, like Emma, Ella, Eva, Eleanor, that it's just logical.
6
Names ending in -lyn seem to be doing well right now. Similarly, -line names are generally more common than -lina names. For example, Eve is a really common name that people can depend on. Some people pronounce the Eve part the same, so Evelyn is essentially just Eve with -lyn at the end, making it sound more modern than ehv-uh-lin. I think about Caroline vs. Carolina, Evangeline vs Evangelina, Adeline vs. Adelina, Madeline vs. Madelina, etc. I don't really know why those -line and -lyn are preferred. For me, it greatly depends on the first part of the name. Angelina and Angeline are both in the charts, as well as Adeline and Adelina... but Madeline is common whereas Madelina is rare. I don't get it. But I can say that I don't know of a notable bearer with the name, as opposed to multiple famous people who must be named Madeline.
1