Evan

What Evan means

Means “God is gracious”

English Ester Anglicization of Welsh Ifan, ultimately from Latin Jōhannēs, variant of Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (yōḥānān, yokhanán, literally “God is gracious”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Evan” (revision 94590635), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Evan?

US: Falling: down from #67 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #113 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2009, when 10,280 boys got the name (#35 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 708 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,042 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 546 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in AK (3.08 per 1,000 boys), CA (2.44 per 1,000 boys), MD (2.27 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Evan is #153 in the US and #195 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 98.0% of US babies named Evan were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Ivan2,240 US · 159 E&W
• Ivaan215 US · 78 E&W
• Aven158 US · 13 E&W
• Evaan47 US · 24 E&W
• Evin29 US · 3 E&W
• Avan28 US
• Avin27 US
• Avon18 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Evan

Boys

• Colin#343Short form of Nicholas, meaning “victory + people”^*
• Bryce#357Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2000, with 4,319 babies; 919 in 2025
• Ian#83Editor’s note Steady in the US: #76 in 2015 and #83 in 2025. About 1 in 440 US boys in the 2025 records
• Oscar#223Editor’s note Down from #181 in 2015 to #223 in 2025 in the US
• Bryan#336Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #166 in 2015, #336 in 2025
• Connor#166“lover of hounds”^*

For a sister

• Ashlyn#972“dream, vision”^*
• Kaitlyn#799Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #197 in 2015, #799 in 2025
• Ashlynn#980Variant of Ashlyn, meaning “dream, vision”^*
• Jenna#679Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1985, with 6,436 babies; 418 in 2025
• Morgan#312Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #121 in 2015, #312 in 2025
• Allie#569Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #255 in 2015, #569 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Irish & Celtic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Evan’s. Rank is US 2025.