Devon/Deven

[sammylilac]

For a boy?

I love the meaning behind it with both spellings (poet and little dark one). My only concern is that he'd get called Dev.

I was going to call my eldest Devon . He’s 23 .. I like this version not Deven ..

I'm not a fan of place names as kids names tbh. But Deven just seems to me like you spelt Devon wrong?

What is the meaning behind Deven? I've googled, but the result just gives me a dead female ex-porn star.

Deven looks so wrong - it looks like you can’t spell and are thick rather than trying to be ‘edgy’ with a different spelling. Sorry if that’s harsh but I doubt I’m the only one to think that.

I know 2 spelt Devan. It’s a nice name.

I’ve known a Devan, he never got called Dev.

For some reason Deven or Devan reminds me of beds, but Devon doesn't at all. Cream teas more like, It a nice name

I know a couple of Devans, both are Indian
I’m not a big fan of place names as First names ( promise I’m not Hatey Hopkins)

I know a Devin. Nice kid. No one calls him Dev.

Whats wrong with Dev? Is there a meaning I am not aware of?

To me it just sounds like shortening Kevin to Kev

You don't get to choose what your child goes by once they can choose for themselves. I know two Dev's both lovely guys and Asian, have longer names. Devon spelt like the county however seems a bit odd.

I don't know what 'Devan' means, but the place name 'Devon' does not mean 'poet' or 'little dark one'.
It means 'people who live in deep valleys' en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devon#Toponymy

... and his sister Cornwall? Not for me op, sorry.

Prefer Devon or Devan. Deven looks like it should be pronounced to rhyme with Steven.

For some reason Deven or Devan reminds me of beds

It does sound rather like divan. With Deven, people would often think that it might be of French origin and guess at 'De Ven' (i.e. 'duh-venn').

I always thought it would be lovely to have quins and call them Kent, Devon, Warwick, Lincoln and Bathandnortheastsomerset

We like the Devon spelling the most so would go with that.

Sorry I missed out that we are going for Devon too! It's fab.

We have a Devon! She always gets complimented on her name, but it is always shortened to Dev, doesn't bother her or us.

@florascotia2

Meaning of the name Devon
Meaning poet; fawn; little dark one and is used more often as a boys name.

Sourced from Bounty. The irish meaning is poet.

@abitfunny - good taste! I don't know why I posted on here tbh, unless I like names such as Arthur or William I can't see how I'll get many nice comments

People might think Deven is pronounced DEEven to rhyme with Even.

In Australia Devon is sandwich meat.

I've not heard of Deven as a name, only Devon (after the place) and Devin (like the surname). Although I generally prefer traditional names, I actually quite like Devon. He will most likely get called Dev as a nn though (especially once in secondary school), so don't use Devon if you hate the nn.

[quote sammylilac]@florascotia2

Meaning of the name Devon
Meaning poet; fawn; little dark one and is used more often as a boys name.

Sourced from Bounty. The irish meaning is poet.[/quote]
Bounty's name meanings are to be taken with a huge pinch of salt. The "little dark one" meaning would come from the Irish surname Devin, and "fawn" would come from a different source of the same surname. Devon is the name of the county. Not sure where "poet" would come from.

Between the two spellings you mentioned, I'd go for Devon as Deven looks like it should rhyme with Steven. But be prepared for a lifetime of "so, do you come from Devon? Oh, is it somewhere you went on holiday?".

OP As another poster has already said, baby name info and meanings in many - most - baby name websites and promotional sources are wildly incorrect.

The Irish and Scottish Gaelic for 'little dark one' is Ciaran - the Irish has a fada over the second a.
Ciaran comes from the word 'ciar' which means 'dark' learngaelic.scot/dictionary/index.jsp?abairt=ciar&slang=both&wholeword=false

The Gaelic for 'poet' is 'bard'.

learngaelic.scot/dictionary/index.jsp?abairt=bard&slang=both&wholeword=false

The Gaelic for fawn (baby deer) or calf is 'laogh'.
learngaelic.scot/dictionary/index.jsp?abairt=laogh&slang=both&wholeword=false