Meaning of the name Eveleen. Listen and learn how to pronounce Eveleen so you can get the correct pronunciation for this girl name.
MEANING: A name thought to have Norman roots that means “wished-for” or “longed-for child.”
GENDER: Girl | Female
IRISH NAME: Eveleen Aibhlinn Aibhilin
PRONUNCIATION: ave + leen”
ENGLISH: Eveleen
AUDIO: (Listen to the late author Frank McCourt pronounce Eveleen and read along with the meaning)
Play Audio for Eveleen:
Play Audio for Eveleen
Back to Irish Girl Names
I was curious about that same thing – whether ‘een’ is a diminutive – so I looked up a long list of Irish names with their derivations (Celtic Female names of Ireland on amethyst night) and it seems that the anglicised ‘een’ is used for a variety of original Gaelic spellings; that some of them from the spelling ‘in are a diminutive, but others from a different spelling mean something quite different and others are Gaelic versions of Latin or French names, including Eveleen, which is apparently a variation of the original French Aveline.
I was baptised Maureen Eveleen and like you understood that that the ending meant little. I had an elder Sister Mary. My mother was Eveleen
I understood that the gaelic for Eveleen is Eveanne and my granddaughter was given this name. The english translation of this would be Eileen (what is that but a diminutive?) The gaelic for Mary and Maureen is Maire.
I always understood the origin of this name is ireland not norman or french. Think Thomas Moore and his poem.
I have always understood (I am 71 and born in Ireland) that the name Eveleen was similar to Maur-een, Kath-leen, Dor-een etc in that the “een” represents the diminutive and in each case the name means Little Eve, Little Mary, Little Katherine, Little Dora, etc etc. Why is this not indicated?