Eva

See also: eva, EVA, Éva, Èva, evä, -eva, eva', and ẽvã

English

Etymology

The (Vulgate) Latin Eva, from Ancient Greek Εὔα (Eúa), from Biblical Hebrew חַוָּה (ḥawwā). A Latinate variant of the English Eve.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -iːvə

Proper noun

Eva

1. A female given name from Latin, ultimately from Hebrew.
   • 1951, Agatha Christie, Mrs. McGinty's Dead, Bantam Books, published 1988, →ISBN, page 150:

     "Eve," said Poirot thoughtfully. "The fashions in names change, do they not? Hardly ever, nowadays, do you hear of an Eva. But Eve, it is popular."

   • 2013, Maggie O'Farrell, Instructions for a Heatwave, Tinder Press, →ISBN, page 79:

     Mrs Saunders referred to Aoife throughout this talk as 'Eva' and when Gretta corrected her, Mrs Saunders replied that didn't Gretta think it would be better 'for everyone' to use what she termed 'the proper spelling' of the name? If only to give Eva a better chance of learning to write it?

Usage notes

• Eva has been used to anglicize Aoife in Ireland and Scotland.

Related terms

• Ava, Eve, Evie, Evita, Evy

Anagrams

• ave., ave, AEV, Vea, Ave., EAV, VAE, 'ave, vae, Ave

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch Eva.

Proper noun

Eva

1. Eve (biblical character)
2. a female given name, equivalent to English Eve

Asturian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeba/, [ˈe.β̞a]

Proper noun

Eva f

1. a female given name, equivalent to English Eve

Cebuano

Etymology

From Spanish Eva, from Latin Eva, from Ancient Greek Εὔα (Eúa), from Biblical Hebrew חַוָּה (ḥawwah).

Proper noun

Eva

1. a female given name from Hebrew

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:Eva.

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛva]
• Hyphenation: Eva

Proper noun

Eva f

1. Eve (wife of Adam)
2. a female given name

Declension

Declension of Eva (hard feminine)

	singular	plural
nominative	Eva	Evy
genitive	Evy	Ev
dative	Evě	Evám
accusative	Evu	Evy
vocative	Evo	Evy
locative	Evě	Evách
instrumental	Evou	Evami

Danish

Proper noun

Eva

1. Eve (wife of Adam)
2. a female given name

References

• [1] Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 24 847 females with the given name Eva have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 1940s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch eva, from Latin Eva, from Ancient Greek Εὔᾱ (Eúā), from Biblical Hebrew חַוָּה.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeː.vaː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Eva

Proper noun

Eva f

1. (biblical) Eve (mythological first woman)
2. a female given name

Derived terms

• eva
• evakostuum

Esperanto

Proper noun

Eva (accusative Evan)

1. Eve (wife of Adam)

Estonian

Proper noun

Eva

1. a female given name, equivalent to English Eve

Related terms

• Ave, Eeva, Eevi, Eve, Evelin, Ivi, Ivika

Faroese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeːva/
• Rhymes: -eːva

Proper noun

Eva f

1. a female given name

Usage notes

Matronymics

• son of Eva: Evuson
• daughter of Eva: Evudóttir

Declension

	Singular
	Indefinite
Nominative	Eva
Accusative	Evu
Dative	Evu
Genitive	Evu

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeːfa/, (archaic, now usually foreign-influenced) /ˈeːva/

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Eva f (proper noun, genitive Evas or (with an article) Eva, diminutive Evchen n or Evachen n or Evlein n or Evalein n)

1. Eve (wife of Adam).
2. a female given name

Icelandic

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Εὔα (Eúa), from Hebrew חַוָּה (ḥawwā).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛːva/
• Rhymes: -ɛːva
• Homophone: efa

Proper noun

Eva f

1. Eve (biblical character).
2. a female given name

Declension

Declension of Eva (sg-only feminine)

indefinite singular
nominative	Eva
accusative	Evu
dative	Evu
genitive	Evu

Derived terms

• Adam og Eva

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.va/
• Rhymes: -ɛva
• Hyphenation: È‧va

Proper noun

Eva f

1. Eve (biblical character)
2. a female given name

Anagrams

• ave

Latin

Alternative forms

• Hē̆va
• Hava

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Εὔᾱ (Eúā), from Biblical Hebrew חַוָּה (ḥawwā́). Cognate to have, avē.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈeː.u̯a/, [ˈeːu̯ä] or IPA^(key): /ˈe.u̯a/, [ˈeu̯ä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈe.va/, [ˈɛːvä]

Proper noun

Ē̆va f sg (genitive Ē̆vae); first declension

1. Eve

Declension

First-declension noun, singular only.

	singular
nominative	Ē̆va
genitive	Ē̆vae
dative	Ē̆vae
accusative	Ē̆vam
ablative	Ē̆vā
vocative	Ē̆va

References

• “Eva”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Eva in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Latvian

Etymology

First recorded as a given name of Latvians in 1609. From Latin Eva.

Proper noun

Eva f

1. a female given name

Related terms

• Ieva
• Evija, Evita

References

• Klāvs Siliņš: Latviešu personvārdu vārdnīca. Riga "Zinātne" 1990, →ISBN
• [2] Population Register of Latvia: Eva was the only given name of 2252 persons in Latvia on May 21st 2010.

Norwegian

Proper noun

Eva

1. Eve (biblical character).
2. a female given name

Usage notes

• Taken up as a given name in Norway after the Reformation.

Related terms

• Evelyn, Evy

References

• Kristoffer Kruken - Ola Stemshaug: Norsk personnamnleksikon, Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo 1995, →ISBN
• [3] Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 20 018 females with the given name Eva living in Norway on January 1st 2011, with the frequency peak in the 1940s. Accessed on April 18th, 2011.

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese Eva, from Latin Eva, from Hebrew חַוָּה (ḥawwā).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.vɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.vɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.va/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.vɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.vɐ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.bɐ/ [ˈɛ.βɐ]

• Rhymes: -ɛvɐ
• Hyphenation: E‧va

Proper noun

Eva f

1. (Abrahamic religions) Eve (the first woman)
2. a female given name, equivalent to English Eve

Slovak

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛva/

Proper noun

Eva f (genitive singular Evy, nominative plural Evy, declension pattern of žena)

1. a female given name
2. Eve (biblical character)

Declension

Declension of Eva

	singular	plural
nominative	Eva	Evy
genitive	Evy	Ev
dative	Eve	Evám
accusative	Evu	Evy
locative	Eve	Evách
instrumental	Evou	Evami

Derived terms

• Evka, Evička
• Evina
• Evuľa, Evuľka
• Evuša, Evuška
• Evča

Further reading

• “Eva”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2024

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin Ēva, from Hebrew חַוָּה (ḥawwā).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeba/ [ˈe.β̞a]
• Rhymes: -eba
• Syllabification: E‧va

Proper noun

Eva f

1. Eve (biblical character)
   • 1602, La Santa Biblia (antigua versión de Casiodoro de Reina), rev., Génesis 3:20:

     Y llamó el hombre el nombre de su mujer, Eva; por cuanto ella era madre de todos los vivientes.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. a female given name from Latin [in turn from Hebrew], equivalent to English Eve

Derived terms

• Adán y Eva
• Evelia (elaborated variant)
• Evita (diminutive)

 

Swedish

Etymology

Latin Eva, from Hebrew. First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1472.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²eːva/

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Eva c (genitive Evas)

1. Eve (biblical character).
   • 1917 Bibeln, 1 Moseboken 3:20:

     Och mannen gav sin hustru namnet Eva, ty hon blev en moder åt allt levande

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. a female given name
   • 2004, Majgull Axelsson, Den jag aldrig var, Prisma, →ISBN, page 258:

     Eva Andersson. Namnet stämde, det var lika anonymt som den färglösa kvinnan på andra sidan skrivbordet, hon som bläddrade i min journal med trubbiga fingrar och sedan såg på mig med rynkad panna.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

• The most common first name of women born in Sweden in the 1940s and the 1950s.

Related terms

• Evelina
• Evy

References

• Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, →ISBN
• [4] Statistiska centralbyrån and Sture Allén, Staffan Wåhlin, Förnamnsboken, Norstedts 1995, →ISBN: 191 834 females with the given name Eva living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with the frequency peak in the 1950s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish, from Hebrew.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔeva/ [ˈʔɛː.vɐ]
  • IPA^(key): (more native-sounding) /ˈʔeba/ [ˈʔɛː.bɐ]
• Rhymes: -eva, (more native-sounding) -eba
• Syllabification: E‧va

Proper noun

Eva (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜊ)

1. Alternative spelling of Eba
2. a female given name from Spanish, equivalent to English Eve