Originally used in English as a surname, which derived from Aveline, a feminine Norman French diminutive of the name Ava.
It is also used as an Anglicisation of the Irish Éibhleann which is derived from the Old Irish óiph, meaning beauty and radiance.
It was mainly a masculine name. A famous male bearer is writer Evelyn Waugh. Evelyn Waugh was married to a woman named Evelyn, and they were known as “He-Evelyn” and “She-Evelyn”.
It is now regarded as feminine due to association with the name Evelina.
There are variant forms of the name such as Evelyne, Eveline, Evaline and Eveleen.
Famous bearers are Evelyn Ashford, Evelyn King, Evelyn Sharma, Evelyn Glennie, Evelyn Lau, Evelyn Thomas, Evelyn Lear, Evelyn Kuhn, Evelyn Stevens.
Evelyn is a popular name in United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, England and Wales.
Evelyn Thomas made it to the American dance chart and the U.K. singles chart, with “High Energy”, by I. Levine & F. Trench, in 1984.