Boy · Irish · Christian
Nevin
NevinSay it NEV-in
- Meaning today
- Little saint, holy
- Original meaning
- "descendant of Cnáimhín, a pet name from cnámh, 'bone'" Patrick Woulfe, s.v. Ó Cnáimhín
- Say it
- NEV-in
- Other spellings
- Nevyn
Nevin
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Nevin meaning
Nevin is a Christian boy's name of Irish origin.
Meaning today
Little saint, holy
Original Irish meaning
"descendant of Cnáimhín, a pet name from cnámh, 'bone'"
Source: Patrick Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923), s.v. Ó Cnáimhín · entry Ó Cnáimhín · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
Nevin is an Irish and Scottish surname that has become a first name. It has two separate roots. Woulfe's Irish Names and Surnames lists Nevin as an English form of Ó Cnáimhín, 'descendant of Cnáimhín', a pet name from cnámh, 'bone'. Another Nevin family, according to Mac Giolla-Domhnaigh's 1923 study of Irish surnames, comes from the Scottish Mac Giolla-Naoimhein, a name built on naomh, 'saint' or 'holy'. Baby-name lists keep only the second sense and give Nevin as 'little saint' or 'holy'. In India the name is used mainly in Christian families, where its short, soft sound fits beside names like Kevin and Melvin.
References: Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923), Ó Cnáimhín (Library Ireland) · Mac Giolla-Domhnaigh, Some Anglicised Surnames in Ireland (1923), Nevin (Library Ireland)
Spellings
Nevin · Nevyn