Kevin

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title: "Kevin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["english-masculine-given-names", "irish-masculine-given-names", "masculine-given-names"] topic_path: "geography/ireland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox name"]

FieldValue
nameKevin
pronunciation
genderMasculine
languageEnglish
languageorigin
originCaoimhín
meaning'of noble birth'
variant formsCaoimheán, Kevan, Kevyn
::

| name = Kevin | image = | caption = | romanisation = | pronunciation = | gender = Masculine | masculine = | feminine = | motto = | language = English | languageorigin = | origin = Caoimhín | derivation = | meaning = 'of noble birth' | region = | alternative spelling = | nickname = | shortform = | petname = | variant forms = Caoimheán, Kevan, Kevyn | related names = | cognate = | anglicisation = | name day = | derived = | derivative = | seealso = | popularity = | footnotes =

Kevin is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name Caoimhín (; ; ; Latinized as Coemgenus). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish cóem and ("birth"; Old Irish gein).

The variant Kevan is anglicised from Caoimheán, an Irish diminutive form. The feminine version of the name is Caoimhe (anglicised as Keeva or Kweeva).

History

Saint Kevin (d. 618) founded Glendalough abbey in the Kingdom of Leinster in 6th-century Ireland. Canonized in 1903, he is one of the patron saints of the Archdiocese of Dublin. Caomhán of Inisheer, the patron saint of Inisheer, Aran Islands, is properly anglicized Cavan or Kevan, but often also referred to as "Kevin".

The name was rarely given before the 20th century. Kevin fell out of the US Top 100 the following year and now ranks at Number 156. The name followed a similar trajectory in the United Kingdom, gaining popularity in the 1950s, peaking in the 1960s, gradually declining in the 1970s to 1980s, and falling out of the top 100 most popularly given names by the 1990s.

Oxford's A Dictionary of First Names suggests that anglicized Kevin may have influenced the adoption of Kelvin (in origin a river name) as a modern given name, which peaked in popularity at about the same time, albeit to a much lesser extent (peaking at rank 209 as of 1961 in the US).

In mainland Europe, the name picked up popularity in the 1980s and 1990s via such American pop culture figures as actor Kevin Costner, singer Kevin Richardson, and, most prominently, Kevin McCallister, Macaulay Culkin's character in the Christmas comedy film Home Alone. "Kevin" was notorious for being extremely popular among lower-class parents between the end of the 1980s and the 2000s. The name peaked markedly in the early 1990s, reaching first rank in France (sometimes spelt Kévin) during 1989–1994, during 1991–1992 in Switzerland and in 1991 in Germany. In German markets, Home Alone was released as Kevin – Allein zu Haus. Especially in Germany, the name became associated with low social status, an attitude popularised in German journalism based on a 2009 master thesis on primary teachers' reactions to children's given names. Kevinismus has become German short-hand for negative social preconceptions about trendy or exotic names.Zhang, Sarah [The Strange German Disease Called "Kevinism": Can a Lame Name Mess Up Your Life?], Discoblog (discovermagazine.com), 1 February 2012. "Kevinometer: Kennen Sie das Kevinismus-Risiko Ihrer Lieblingsnamen?" (beliebte-vornamen.de) The name has had similar negative connotations in France.

People

Fictional

References

References

  1. "cáem". Irish Language Dictionary.
  2. "gein". Irish Language Dictionary.
  3. ''A Dictionary of First Names''. [[Oxford University Press]] (2007) s.v. "Kevin".
  4. Campbell, Mike. "Popularity for the name Kevin".
  5. "Kevin: Name Meaning, Popularity, and Similar Names".
  6. donnah. "Baby names in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics".
  7. ''A Dictionary of First Names''. [[Oxford University Press]] (2007) s.v. "Kelvin".
  8. (5 August 2022). "We need to talk about Kévin: French namesakes fight national mockery". [[The Guardian]].
  9. Pignal, Stanley (Charlemagne). (19 December 2024). "We need to talk about Europe’s Kevins". [[The Economist]].
  10. (16 September 2009). "Oliver Trenkamp Ungerechte Grundschullehrer: Kevin ist kein Name, sondern eine Diagnose". [[Spiegel Online]].
  11. Pribyl, Katrin [https://www.welt.de/politik/article1727650/Wie-Namen-die-Zukunft-von-Kindern-beeinflussen.html "KEVINISMUS" Wie Namen die Zukunft von Kindern beeinflussen] {{in lang. de {{Webarchive. link. (2016-09-19 , ''Welt'', 26 February 2008.)
  12. (11 July 2022). ""Sauvons les Kévin" : Un documentaire pour réhabiliter un prénom mal-aimé".

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