Where did the baby name Yvaine come from in 2008?

The character Yvaine from the movie "Stardust" (2007).
Yvaine from “Stardust

The name Yvaine first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 2008:

  • 2010: 9 baby girls named Yvaine
  • 2009: 13 baby girls named Yvaine
  • 2008: 8 baby girls named Yvaine [debut]
  • 2007: unlisted
  • 2006: unlisted

Where did it come from?

The fantasy/adventure film Stardust, which was released in mid-2007 (several days after I wrote the original version of this post, in fact!).

The movie, based on a book by Neil Gaiman, starred actress Claire Danes as, well, a literal star — the personification of a star that had fallen to Earth. She was “in great danger, for the king’s sons need her powers to secure the throne, and an evil witch…wants to use her to achieve eternal youth and beauty.”

The characters Yvaine and Tristan Thorn from the movie "Stardust" (2007).
Yvaine and Tristan from “Stardust

Luckily she had the assistance of a young man named Tristan, who finally learned (partway through the story) that the star’s name was Yvaine (pronounced eh-VAYN):

My sisters called me Yvaine. For I was an evening star.

Gaiman seems to have chosen the name based on its similarity to the word “evening,” but that’s not what the name means. Instead, it may have been based on Yvain, the name of one of the Knights of the Round Table. (The knight was also known as Owain.)

What are your thoughts on the name Yvaine?

Sources: Stardust – Rotten Tomatoes, Stardust Script – BBC

P.S. The baby name Stardust, which was a one-hit wonder back in 1977, didn’t resurface in the data following the release of the movie…

[Latest update: 4/2022]

20 thoughts on “Where did the baby name Yvaine come from in 2008?

  1. “My sisters called me Yvaine, for I was an evening star.”

    Although she introduces herself thusly, I’ve found no etymological link between her introduction and the name itself.

    I did some research, and it appears to be based on “bayne,” the Scottish for, “bound, ready” as found in An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language by John Jamieson, page 102. The book notes that, “in this sense the word bayne occurs in Yvaine and Gavin.”

    This is further supported by the dialogue leading up to Yvaine’s introduction of herself on page 153 of the hardcover version, DC Comics, 1998: “I hate you. I hated you for everything already, but now I hate you most of all. Because, now that you have saved my life, you are, by the law of my people, responsible for me, and I for you. Where you go, I must also go.” …”Aye, it is a mighty joke, is it not? Whither thou goest, there I must go, if it kills me.”

    Compromising definition aside, it is a lovely name, and I might consider it were I in a position to do so.

  2. For me, the name conjures up the word “naive” both by it’s sound and spelling. It’s pretty but for this reason I would not name my daughter Yvaine.

  3. There is also an irish spelling of this name “Aoibheann” which has been around for some time. I have a friend in her 20’s called Aoibheann and ive always loved it and would consider the name Evaine for my daughter if i have anymore.

  4. I love Stardust and am currenlty trying to decide on a baby name. I am really considering Evaine. It’s really growing on me the more I say it! Its so unusual and can always be shortened to Eve or Evie if baby grows up unsure oof it!
    I found the info above really helpful.
    thanks

  5. I had my daughter in January this year and fell in love with the name when I saw stardust. I have however spelt it Eevayne to make people pronounce it correctly instead of saying AVEIN X

  6. i named my daughter Yvaine(pronounce ieveen) and i’m from the netherlands.
    Almost everyone i know thought of it as a beautiful name and i am still glad we choose this name for our beautiful daughter!

  7. im from yhe philippines..i love claire danes and stardust,so the moment i heard the name in the movie,I fell in love with it,so i named my daughter YVAINE. rumiko kyrie yvaine
    her real name

  8. i had a litttle girl in march and called her yvaine have not heard of anyone else with the same name so was nice to come on here and see there is
    have had very missed reactions when i say her name i love it (we call her eva for short).
    and i love the meaning evening star

  9. Hello, I’m Ingrid from Holland.

    I called my daughter (now 1 year old) Yvaine, after I saw the movie Stardust. Had she been a boy, she would have been called Tristan.

    My first daughter is called Kayleigh, so the names had to look good together.

    I really love the name Yvaine, because (as far as I know) nobody in Holland is called Yvaine. A special name for a very special girl!!!

  10. I named my little girl Yvaine after the evening star in Stardust because I loved the book and my hubby and I wanted names that were uncommon but not overly odd.

  11. Yvaine’s sense of the word itself is actually what?? then comes from what language?? please answer. themo

  12. I watched stardust and loved Claire Danes’ name in the movie too so I named my baby girl Yvaine Joleen. Joleen is from my mom’s name Cholyn. Some often get baffled on the spelling and pronunciation. But almost everybody says the name is unique and asks where did I get it. So no regrets there. I call her Binbin now,she’s 8 mos. old but when she gets older,she’ll probably like Yvvy more:-)

  13. My wife and I love the name Yvaine after we watched Stardust and wanted something quite unique and lovely. We chose Yvaine Liuba (Russian for love). My daughter is truly precious, so bless everyone who chose this name and best wishes for their remarkable lives ahead.

  14. We’re huge fans of Stardust and when it came time to choose a name for our second daughter we knew without even discussing it we would name her Yvaine. Yvaine Claire came into the world September 26th and we couldn’t imagine her with any other name :)

  15. Hello, I’m Juliane from Germany.

    We called our daughter (born in nov 2011) Yvaine, because my husband loves the name since he saw stardust and he wouldn’t have accepted any other name ;)

    Yvaine Maja Isabelle (her whole name)

    We really love the name Yvaine, because (as far as I know) nobody in Berlin is called Yvaine. We only had positive reactions from other people. A very special name for my little sunshine!!!

  16. My baby girl was born in August 2011. We named her Yvaine Ruby May. She’s Eve or Evie for short. I love the name. We wanted something to do with stars. I also considered Evangeline after the star in The Princess and the Frog.

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