Evan
Feminine · “God is gracious”
Evan is given to boys far more often — 287,701 boys against 4,725 girls since 1880. See Evan as a boy name
Evan is the Welsh form of John, and John is one of the two or three most-used men's names in the history of Europe. Given to a girl, it belongs to the older American habit of taking a plain, short boy's name and simply using it.
How old is the name Evan?
Evan first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Evan alive today was born around 2002, making them about 23 years old. About 4,500 people named Evan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Evan most popular?
Evan peaked in 1991, reaching #1219 nationally. Today it ranks #3167, 1,948 places below that high. See the whole 1991 chart.
Evan appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Yohanan to Evan
The story of Evan
Wales took John as Ieuan in the Middle Ages, shortened it to Ifan, and English-speaking clerks wrote what they heard, which was Evan. It became a Welsh surname as well and traveled with Welsh emigration to America in the nineteenth century. Its use for girls is much more recent and much smaller, and it belongs to the same American pattern that has taken Ryan, Rowan and Emerson across as well.
Meaning
God is gracious
From Hebrew Yohanan through Latin Iohannes; Welsh made Ieuan and then Ifan, which English wrote as Evan.
How the name formed
- Yohanan
- Iohannes
- Ieuan
- Ifan
- Evan
Related forms: Ifan · John · Eoin · Juan
Pronouncing Evan
EV-uhn
Two syllables, first stressed. Welsh usage gives the first vowel a slightly fuller sound.
Nicknames for Evan
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1915
- Most girls named
- 2004134 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1219reached in 1991
- Change vs 2023
- −23.1%50 in 2025, from 65
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Evan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ifan in Welsh — same name
- John in English — same name
- Eoin in Irish — same name
- Juan in Spanish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Evans among us
people named Evan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 32,145 born in 2025 was named Evan
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Remona test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Evan's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Remona climbed just as high around 1937, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Remona's path sketches the road Evan is walking now.
Evan sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Evan is headed
Evan is easing off slowly — about 16% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Evan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Evan in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning and a documented line running back two thousand years.
- Four letters, easy to say, easy to spell, easy to write early.
- Evie is a ready short form for anyone who wants a longer everyday name.
- It is read as a boy's name by default, and she will correct that assumption regularly — on forms, at school and in first meetings.
- Evan and Evann are both used for girls and neither is standard.
- The name is common for boys in her year group, so the sound will not be distinctive.
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What they receive
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Evan
Feminine · #3167 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Evans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,500 people named Evan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Evan in 2025?
- Evan ranks #3167 among US girl names in 2025, with 50 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Evan?
- About 1 in every 32,145 US girls born in 2025 was named Evan — 50 in all.
- Will my child share the name Evan with classmates?
- Evan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Evan
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lulu#3167 · Lucina#3167 · Irma#3167 · Leyna#3167 · Skylee#3167 · Amairani#3167 · Jorja#3167 · Jozie#3167
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Evan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Evan and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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