Evelyn or Avelyn?

[AngeloMysterioso]

DH and I have been discussing names for DC1 this evening. We've already got boys names fixed, using our Father's and Grandfather's names, but we're undecided on girls. I've had one preferred name for ages which DH was happy to go along with but this evening we threw a few others into the mix and two we really like are Evelyn and Avelyn, but we can't decide which we prefer!

We're pronouncing them like Ev from ever and Ave like rave.

Surname is one syllable, consonant initial.

Putting it to the MN jury! Any thoughts?

Eve, Evie and Ava are all very popular at the moment so your DD may be part of an whole bunch of them (even if that doesn’t match your preferred pronunciation). It’s like calling her Eloisa - in theory very unusual: in practice just another Ellie.

Ev-lin? Huh?
Evelyn is either eve-lin or ev-ah-lin.
You can't just ignore the e in the middle.

Think you’ll find lots of people do...

I’ve only heard Eve-Lin or Eh-ve-Lin

You’re doing an alternative pronunciation? Evlin?

I don’t really understand why people post in these forums when they don’t like hearing people’s views. Avelin is going to sound made up which in turn makes it seem either quite chavvy or just a very young mum - but it’s the name you love & want so why ask? Once a baby is here & announced people tend to be polite anyway. There are far far worse around anyway - people in here have suggested Tree as a girls name before now.

I've never heard Evelyn pronounced Ev-Lin either.

Either Eve-lin (for a man?) or Ev-ah-Lin (for a woman).

Avelyn sounds made up and given that it's not even the Anglicized version of the Irish name, it is made up.

Genuinely OP, I’ve taught loads of Eve-lins and Ev-uh-lins and have known a few elderly ladies and gentlemen called Evelyn over the years.

Have never come across an Ev-lin. If you look it up phonetically that is an incorrect pronunciation.

You seem sold on Avelyn despite most of us giving our opinion that it seems like a made up name and your child will spend their life correcting people. It’s what you think and feel that counts so just use it. I don’t understand why you bothered asking for opinions if you didn’t want them.

What was the other girl name you’ve loved for a long time?

I think the ev-lin / ev-uh-lin thing is just down to accents. I would say ev-lin but the two sound virtually indistinguishable to me.

It's like cath-rin / cath-er-in

PCohle same here!

Penny4Thoughts frightened to say in case everyone tears it to shreds! Thought it was just AIBU where people are savage...

Avelyn makes me think of Aveline from 80's sitcom bread. Don't do it 😂

People can be a bit blunt in here, but the thing is, it's one of the few places where you can get really honest opinions. Most people will say "lovely" when you suggest a name to them, regardless of what they think.

Agree with a previous poster, all the "Ev-" and "Av-" names just sound the same after a while. And most people will not pronounce Evelyn as "Ev-lin".

I think you can pick a much better name for your baby. We went round the houses and were fixed on Olivia the whole pregnancy until a week before the birth when we realised how popular it was. Sat in garden with name book and found the perfect name. At my first baby group there were 3 Olivia’s - close shave!

@AngeloMysterio I think savage is quite good because you see the name in all it’s glory. ALL names will get negative comments in the following:

• Chavvy
• Try hard
• Boring
• Bully target
• Ugly
• Dated
• Will date
• Wet / weak
• Too far the wrong gender
• Too difficult to spell
• Bad with your surname
• Will be 10 million of them (apparently)
• Too associated with [insert serial killer / missing child / TV character]
• Means a rude word in a foreign language

It really is endless.

I think it’s really useful to know if the name you’re interested in sounds to others the way it sounds to you. Some of those things will bother you & others wouldn’t. I’d want to make sure I was seeing everything others saw & not accidentally giving my child BJ initials or something. But if I know it already & don’t care? Then that’s up to me!

I got told dd2s name sounded like a boat