Evan

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Evan
Pronunciation [ˈɛvən]
Gender Male (rarely Female)
Meaning "God Is Gracious" or "Young Warrior"
Origin Welsh
Related names Evangeline, Evangelos, Ian, Ivan
Popularity Popular names page

Evan (pronounced /ˈɛvən/) is an English masculine given name, although it has on the rare occasion been given to girls as well, as with actress Evan Rachel Wood. The name is derived from "lefan", one of the Welsh forms of John and is closely related to "Ivan", "Ian", and "Juan"; the name John is derived from the ancient Hebrew name יְהֹוחָנָן Yəhôḥānān, which means "YHWH Is Gracious". Evan is also a Celtic name meaning "Young Warrior". It can also be the shortened version of the Greek name Evangelos. Evanna is an extended name from Evan, usually named for girls, while Eva is a shortened name from Evan for girls. Evan used as a last name can be Evans.

[edit] Popularity

The popularity of the name Evan in the United States has risen steadily over the past fifty years, from the 440-ranked name in 1957 to the thirty-eight-ranked name in 2005. Overall, Evan has been the forty-eighth most popular name in the world and the sixty-third most popular name in the 1990s.

Evan's popularity from 1997-2007
Year Rank 2008 38
2007 40
2006 42
2005 38
2004 39
2003 44
2002 56
2001 56
2000 55
1999 57
1998 63
1997 60
Source: Social Security Administration.
See http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames

[edit] Notable people with the given name Evan

See also: All pages beginning with "Evan"

[edit] Popular culture references to the name Evan