Active discussions

Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

How do you pronounce Evelyn?

47 replies

Catspaws · 26/03/2018 15:10

Do you say Eev-lin or evuh-Lin? Or something different to either?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
BakewellTarts · 26/03/2018 21:31

Agree with iismum our girl is Evelyn pronounced Eev-lin she is British.

Other pronounciations are fine just not for us / her!

cushioncovers · 26/03/2018 21:30

Ever. Lyn

Frogscotch7 · 26/03/2018 21:30

I know two who pronounce their names
Ev-lin

But I love the Irish version Eibhlín pronounced Ev-leen

MyKingdomForBrie · 26/03/2018 21:24

I think it’s a beautiful name in the masculine form and would definitely have used it but one of my close friends used it for her dd (pronounced Ever-Lyn) so I cant!

MikeUniformMike · 26/03/2018 20:22

Eve-lyn.

Pemba · 26/03/2018 20:04

I think it's probably a long time since a boy was named 'Evelyn' .

Pemba · 26/03/2018 20:03

And it's funny, people say 'eev-lin' is the masculine form, but to me it sounds softer and very feminine. Also the connection to 'Eve'.

bridgetreilly · 26/03/2018 19:42

Oh, the boy/girl thing would make sense. I always say eve-lyn because the first person I knew with that name was a nun at my school. But all the nuns had boys' names (I don't know why).

TheUbercornMum · 26/03/2018 19:31

I have friends who pronounce it both ways. I love the name but it put me off the name when I was deciding for my DD because I've heard it being corrected a lot.

elQuintoConyo · 26/03/2018 19:30

Ev eh lin

Whatififall · 26/03/2018 19:29

I prefer the eev-lin pronunciation of Evelyn. But I know a baby ev-lin. I don’t like that pronunciation (obvs I never say that in RL).

I’ve never heard of the Ever-lin pronouncing style but I still prefer that to Evvv-lin. It just makes a pretty name sound meh.

SoMuchToBits · 26/03/2018 19:29

I would say Eve-Lin, but a friend of mine had grandmothers both of which had this name, and one was Eve-Lin and the other was Evva-Lin. You can choose which pronunciation you like, I guess.

eloisesparkle · 26/03/2018 19:23

Ev linn

DiegoMadonna · 26/03/2018 19:22

If you do a search, you'll get hundreds of answers, because this has been asked 5 or 6 times over the last few months.

For me it's Ev-uh-lin. But it's just one of those names that if somebody says it's pronounced the other way, you just say ok, and change the way you say it to them from then on. No big deal.

GreenMeerkat · 26/03/2018 19:21

My DD is Evelyn and pronounced Ev-eh-lin

DramaAlpaca · 26/03/2018 19:20

The only one I know pronounces it Ev-lyn.

Nanasueathome · 26/03/2018 19:16

My MIL was an Evelyn and she always insisted on it being pronounced as Ev-lyn

Rachiie · 26/03/2018 19:14

I'd say ev-er-lin but both ways are technically right. It's up to you which you choose.

User27839494 · 26/03/2018 19:11

Been looking through a baby book today and under Evelyn it says about Eve-Lyn being the masculine pronounciation and Ev-uh-Lyn being feminine and linking it with the French Aveline. But yes, it certainly can be pronounced either way for a girl but I wouldn’t go for the masculine pronunciation for this reason.

Pemba · 26/03/2018 19:06

I don't think that is definitive though, Buxbaum. My grandmother 'eev-lin' was definitely female (!) and she was named prior to 1920, in England, and nobody at the time appeared to think it was odd, although she did have some female contemporaries who were 'Ev-lin'.

Agree that the male version is always 'eev=lin' (as in Evelyn Waugh). But the female version can be either pronunciation.

Buxbaum · 26/03/2018 18:46

Traditionally, I don't think there's a distinction between the male and the female usage

There categorically is. Eev-lin is male, ev-lin or ev-eh-lin female. I do agree that sadly Evelyn seems to be near extinction as a boys’ name; see also the wonderful Aubrey.

kingjofferyworksintescos · 26/03/2018 17:28

Eva lin

AnnieAnoniMouser · 26/03/2018 17:25

It always makes me groan because whichever I go for, you can bet they prefer it the other way.

Save her the headache and choose something else, she’ll thank you for it..

Pemba · 26/03/2018 17:25

There are three ways, all correct AFAIK:

  1. Eev - lin. My late grandmother had this name, and I prefer this pronunciation. Also means you can more easily use 'Eve' or 'Evie' for short.
  2. Ev-lin which seems more popular now
  3. Evver-lin.
iismum · 26/03/2018 17:23

I would say that Eev-lyn is the British pronunciation, Ev-er-lyn is US or Aus - but maybe is coming in more over here, from the previous posters. Traditionally, I don't think there's a distinction between the male and the female usage - though the male usage is probably more or less obsolete these days.

I'd always assume a British Evelyn was Eev-lyn unless told otherwise.