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.”
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]