What gave the baby name Cadel a boost in the early 2010s?

Last week, the Los Angeles Times profiled a 12-year-old girl named Evan Kim who ran the Ventura Marathon and placed second among all females with a time of 2 hours and 58 minutes.

How did she come to have the (typically male) name Evan?

Born into a family of athletes in 2012, she was named after Cadel Evans, the cyclist who won the Tour de France the year prior.

Cadel (pronounced kuh-DEL) Evans is the only Australian to have ever won the Tour de France. I don’t know how many other U.S. babies were named “Evan” after Evans, but dozens were named Cadel:

• 2013: 10 baby boys named Cadel
• 2012: 19 baby boys named Cadel [peak usage]
• 2011: 17 baby boys named Cadel
• 2010: 12 baby boys named Cadel
• 2009: 12 baby boys named Cadel
• 2008: 14 baby boys named Cadel
• 2007: 14 baby boys named Cadel
• 2006: 8 baby boys named Cadel
• 2005: 6 baby boys named Cadel [debut]
• 2004: unlisted

In fact, usage of the name tracks with Cadel Evans’ Tour de France career: He first participated in 2005, he placed second in both 2007 and 2008, and he finally won in 2011.

His first name is a simplified spelling of the Welsh name Cadell, which can be traced back to the Old Welsh word cat, meaning “battle.” (One of Evans’ great-grandfathers immigrated to Australia from Wales.)

What are your thoughts on the name Cadel? (How about on Evan as a girl name?)

P.S. Another young runner we’ve talked about is Nasiya Jobe, and another professional cyclist we’ve talked about is Lance Armstrong.

Sources:

• “Marathon runner, 12, sets her sights on 2028 Olympics.” Los Angeles Times 12 Mar. 2024.
• Gallagher, Brendan. “Cadel Evans wins cycling Road Race World Championship in Mendrisio, Switzerland.” Telegraph 27 Sept. 2009.
• Cadel Evans – Wikipedia
• Cadell – Behind the Name
• SSA

Image: Adapted from CadelEvans by troye owens under CC BY-SA 2.0.