Baby Name of the Day Evadne: Gorgeous and Rare

The baby name Evadne combines two stylish categories for a name that’s rare, but lovely.

Thanks to Melody for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

THE MEANING OF THE NAME EVADNE

Evadne comes from the Greek element eu, meaning good. It’s shared by Eugene and Evander, Eulalie and Eustace. 

The second element is probably from adnos, meaning holy. It’s the same ending as Ariadne. 

It’s not related to Eve, which comes from a Hebrew word meaning life or breath. Evelyn is an import from a Germanic name of debated meaning. 

But good and holy seem like auspicious, promising meanings so there’s really no need to look further.

EVADNE IN GREEK MYTH

Greek myth gives us at least four separate women by the name.

They include:

• The wife of the warrior Capaneus. Her husband’s arrogance angered Zeus, and he met his death by thunderbolt. Grief stricken, Evadne threw herself onto his funeral pyre.
• The second was Poseidon’s daughter. Unhappily pregnant by Apollo, she initially planned to abandon their son, Iamus. Legend has it that he survived and founded a priestly order known as the Iamidae; they’d eventually become responsible for organizing the ancient Olympic games.

Neither are household names, but multiple uses suggests that the name Evadne would’ve been broadly familiar in the ancient world. 

EVADNE OVER THE YEARS 

Like many names preserved in mythology, Evadne resurfaces over the years.

• In 1619, Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher used the name for a character in their play, The Maid’s Tragedy. The piece was performed by the King’s Men, most famous as the troupe to which William Shakespeare had belonged.
• Richard Lalor Scheil’s 1819 drama Evadne was a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, with Evadne as woman wrongly accused of infidelity.
• During the 1890s, Sarah Grand’s anti-marriage protest novel The Heavenly Twins featured Evadne Frayling.
• Evadne Price penned the 1930 anti-war novel Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War. However, she is better known by the pen name Helen Zenna Smith.
• From the original episode of 1970s television show Wonder Woman, Evadne was Diana’s cousin, who lost out to her in the bid to be the next heroine from Paradise Island.
• In the early 2000s, Gilbert Adair wrote Agatha Christie-inspired mysteries featuring detective Evadne Mount.

It’s an intriguing, creative, and literary drumbeat that keeps the baby name Evadne just on the right side of familiar.

EVELYN MEETS DAPHNE

Today the name attracts attention because it blends two powerful trends:

• Our love of Ev- names, from Top Ten Evelyn to rising Evangeline and recent newcomers like Everly. 
• All of those Greek, ends-with-E picks, from favorites like Zoe, Chloe, and Penelope, to rising choices like Daphne, Phoebe, Persephone, and Calliope.

Evadne is the best of both. 

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME EVADNE?

Despite that promising meeting of stylish sounds, the name Evadne remains very rare.

• In 1899, it debuted in the US data when five girls received the name.
• Peak usage was 1962, when 12 girls were named Evadne.
• As of 2021, just five girls were given the name. 

2021 also marks the last year Evadne appears in the official US Social Security Administration’s extended data. For privacy reasons, names given to four or fewer girls or boys are not released to the public. 

READY FOR DISCOVERY

If you’re looking for a stand-out choice for a daughter, Evadne might be the perfect baby name. 

It shortens easily to Evie, but wears well in full. And there’s a long history of the name’s use, including some fascinating stories to inspire, from the ancient world to Victorian literature and beyond.

What do you think of the baby name Evadne?

First published on September 29, 2008, this post was revised on December 27, 2013 and again on August 25, 2026.