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HelpDo you think Evelyn can work well as boy's name?
I actually feel Evelyn is unisex. (even though it's not popular opinion)
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Replies
It barely works as a girl's name, so no.
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Not at all.
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I don't really like Evelyn regardless of gender.
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Not really no. Largely female to me.
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For boys, it is pronounced the way it looks "EEV-lin" which is different from the female pronunciation "EHV-uh-lin".
I don't get the notion that it's fine to name a girl James but not to name a boy Evelyn, a name which has a history of male usage since the 17th century. Sadly, there's a real double standard at play here and for many people it's an unconscious bias. If the girls are, little by little, "stealing" male names, there will be fewer boy names left from which to choose.
Evelyn was originally a surname so aren't surnames unisex?
I don't get the notion that it's fine to name a girl James but not to name a boy Evelyn, a name which has a history of male usage since the 17th century. Sadly, there's a real double standard at play here and for many people it's an unconscious bias. If the girls are, little by little, "stealing" male names, there will be fewer boy names left from which to choose.
Evelyn was originally a surname so aren't surnames unisex?
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i completely agree. It says a lot once unis ex names are mostly used by girls they are no longer used by boys when boys name are cool and trendy on girls.
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Maybe in the UK, but I'm not sure what the trends are.
In the US, I would say it's presently a girl name.
In the US, I would say it's presently a girl name.
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Nope
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no ...
It was somewhat common in the UK of a hundred or so years ago for Evelyn to be a boy's name, but not in the US.
That ship has sailed.
It was somewhat common in the UK of a hundred or so years ago for Evelyn to be a boy's name, but not in the US.
That ship has sailed.
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For historical fiction, it would absolutely be a boys name. At this present time, it doesn't work very well. Maybe in 80 years it will work well for both concurrently.
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It's become firmly a female name. A person could use it on a boy, but in English speaking culture there would be some social ripples; people would comment on it.
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No, I prefer Evan for a boy
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No. It sounds very feminine to me.
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It used to be: Evelyn Waugh the author was actually named Arthur Evelyn, but chose to use Evelyn. He actually married a woman named Evelyn, but the marriage only lasted a few years. His books were more popular than he was - his public image was rather unpleasant. Perhaps this made Evelyn unpopular as a male name. It started off as a surname, and was then used mostly for boys, but since Eve is definitely female in the Bible this could have made people think of Evelyn as more suited to girls.
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No
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Depends. Where you are is a big factor. It would probably have a better shot at acceptance considering its history as a man's name, in say, Cambridge UK than in the Bronx US.
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