Kevin

See also: Kévin

English

Etymology

Name of an Irish seventh century saint, from Irish Caoimhghin or Caoimhín, from Old Irish Cóemgen (literally “homely birth”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: kĕ'vĭn, IPA^(key): /ˈkɛvɪn/, enPR: kĕ'vən, IPA^(key): /ˈkɛvən/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛvɪn, -ɛvən

Proper noun

Kevin (plural Kevins)

1. A male given name from Irish. It first became popular outside Ireland in the mid-twentieth century.
2. (British, derogatory, slang) A working-class male.

Quotations

• 1990 Ruth Rendell: Going Wrong →ISBN page 157:

  "Guy," he said. He said it slowly and with a certain puzzlement. He said it again, thoughtfully, as if it were a name of someone he had known long ago but couldn't quite place. "Guy. Yes - don't you find it difficult being called that? I mean, if Nora hadn't said, I'd have put you down as a Kevin, or a Barry. Yes, Barry would suit you."

  He looked like an innocent child, smiling, wide-eyed, his cheeks plump and rosy, defying the object of his insults to take offence.

• 1996 Frank McCourt: Angela's Ashes. Harper Collins Publishers. →ISBN page 203:

  They sit by the fire smoking and talking about names. Mam says she likes the names Kevin and Sean but Bridey says, Ah no, there's too many of them in Limerick. Jesus, Angela, if you stuck your head out of the door and called, Kevin or Sean, come in for your tea, you'd have half o' Limerick running to your door.

Related terms

• pet form: Kev

Translations

male given name

• Arabic: كِيفِن m (kīfin)
• Breton: Kevin
• Catalan: Kevin (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 奇云 (kei⁴ wan⁴), 奇雲／奇云 (kei⁴ wan⁴)

  Mandarin: 凱文／凯文 (zh) (Kǎiwén), 凯文 (zh) (Kǎiwén), 克文 (zh) (Kèwén)

• Dutch: Kevin (nl)
• French: Kevin (fr), Kévin (fr)
• Georgian: კევინ (ḳevin)
• German: Kevin (de)
• Greek: Κέβιν (el) (Kévin), Κεβίνος (Kevínos)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hebrew: קווין
• Hindi: कैविन (kaivin)
• Irish: Caoimhín m
• Japanese: ケヴィン (Kevin), ケビン (Kebin)
• Korean: 케빈 (Kebin)
• Latin: Coemgenus m
• Portuguese: Kevin m
• Russian: Ке́вин (ru) m (Kévin)
• Spanish: Kevin (es)
• Thai: เควิน (kay-win)
• Vietnamese: Kevin, Ke-vin

See also

• Sharon

Anagrams

• knive

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Breton

Proper noun

Kevin

1. a male given name

References

• Alain Stéphan, Tous les Prénoms bretons, 1996, Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot, →ISBN, page 63

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Cebuano

Etymology

From English Kevin, from Irish Caoimhghin or Caoimhín, from Old Irish Cóemgen (literally “comely birth”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ke‧vin

Noun

Kevin

1. a male given name from English

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Danish

Etymology

Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Proper noun

Kevin

1. a male given name

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Estonian

Etymology

Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Proper noun

Kevin

1. a male given name

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French

Alternative forms

• Kévin

Etymology

Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ke.vin/

Proper noun

Kevin m

1. a male given name

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German

Etymology

Borrowed from English Kevin. First popularised in the late 1970s after footballer Kevin Keegan, who played for Hamburger SV from 1977 to 1980.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɛ.vɪn/

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Kevin m (proper noun, strong, genitive Kevins, plural Kevins)

1. a male given name

Usage notes

• In recent decades, Kevin has become rather stigmatised in German-speaking Europe as a name typical of the uneducated classes. To a lesser degree the same is also true of other English given names (an interesting contrast to the otherwise high prestige of the English language).

Derived terms

• Kevinismus

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Norwegian

Etymology

Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Proper noun

Kevin

1. a male given name

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Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English Kevin.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛ.vĩ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛ.vin/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛ.vin/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛ.bin/ [ˈkɛ.βin]

Proper noun

Kevin m

1. a male given name from English, equivalent to English Kevin

Derived terms

• Kevinho

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Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English Kevin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkebin/ [ˈke.β̞ĩn]

Proper noun

Kevin m

1. a male given name from English, equivalent to English Kevin

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Swedish

Etymology

Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Proper noun

Kevin c (genitive Kevins)

1. a male given name

Anagrams

• Viken, viken