Name of the Week

 

A lyrical, classical-sounding name that has 
a host of potential nicknames.

 

Origin:

A feminisation of Evangel, the Christian Gospel, which comes from the Geek ευ (eu) "good" and αγγελμα (angelma) "message."

Usage:

It is thought to have been invented by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for the heroine of his poem Evangeline (1847). However, despite the popularity of the poem, the name was not used in Britain until the October-December quarter of 1852, when, quite suddenly, 20 girls were given it as a first name, and several more as a middle name. 150 births were registered in the following year of 1853, and 118 in 1854. The Latinised Evangelina was used from 1853.  This sudden starting date of usage is no doubt due to the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, which sold 200,000 copies in England when it was first published in 1852, and featured a character named Evangeline St. Claire "Little Eva." Indeed, many of the early British Evangelines seem to have used Eva as a hypocoristic.  After its initial peak in popularity, the name fell to a steady and consistent usage of around 40-50 births per year until the 1920s. In 2010 142 girls (rank #330) were registered with the name in England and Wales. 4 girls were given the name in Scotland in 2011.

Famous Bearers:

Peerage * Evangeline Cory Booth (1865 – 1950) was the first female general of the Salvation Army.  * Evangeline Walton (1907 – 1996) was an American. * Evangeline Adams (1868 - 1932) was an American astrologer.  * Evangeline Lilly (b.1979) is a well known Canadian actress.  Other Several fictional characters have borne the name including: * Evangeline the star in Disney's The Princess and The Frog. * Evangeline McDowell from Negima. * Evangeline in Nanny McPhee.  * Evangeline Whedon is a Marvel Comic character.

Variants:

Evangelina (Latinised)

Pronunciation:

e-VAN-jel-een (UK) [key]

Diminutives:

Angel, Ania, Annie, Eva, Eve, Evie, Genie, Gina, Ginny, Iva, Ivie/Ivy, Lena, Lia, Laney, Liv, Livvy, Nia, Van, Vanya

Sibling Names:

Genevieve     Seraphina    Christabel     Magdalene     Antonia     Felicity  Maximilian     Dominic     Leander      Matthias      Phineas      Raphael

Name Lists:

Vintage   Names of Roses

 

If you like Evangeline you may also like:   Delphine, Clementine, Vivienne, Angelica, Aurora, Evelina, Rosaline, Alexandrina, Valentina, Marceline