Eva
From the Hebrew for "life", carried by the woman who gives it. It nearly vanished a decade ago, then came roaring back: more girls got it last year than in most years since 2000, though it stays rare enough that most Poles have never met one.
Eva Pronunciation
What Eva means
Where Eva comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Eva reaches back to the Hebrew name Chawwah, tied to a root that speaks of living. Translators of scripture read it as "life," and the woman it first named was called the mother of all the living. That meaning has stayed close for centuries.
In Poland the name settled into Ewa, and from that stem grew the diminutive Ewelina. A girl signing a school register as Ewa carries the same idea a girl named Eva does. The link between them is real. It rests on a shared sense of życie, dająca życie, one who gives life.
Short. Two letters do a great deal of work here.
The Polish name-day for Ewa falls on 24 December, beside Adam, so anyone bearing it shares a feast with Christmas Eve. Whatever a person makes of that pairing, the name keeps its old meaning. Eva, Ewa, Ewelina, all of them still say life.
How many people are named Eva
1 in 5997 women in Poland is named Eva. 3,759 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #545 among female names.
Eva's popularity over time
147 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #215 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2002.
Where parents choose Eva
Eva is most popular in Lubusz, 123% above the national average (32 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Masovian (+72%) and Lower Silesian (+65%). It is least common in Lublin and Warmian-Masurian, 80% and 76% below average respectively.
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Lubusz
+123%1 in 1,552 babies
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Masovian
+72%1 in 2,013 babies
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Lower Silesian
+65%1 in 2,095 babies
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Lublin
−80%1 in 17,113 babies
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Warmian-Masurian
−76%1 in 14,359 babies
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian
−75%1 in 13,672 babies
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Lubusz+123% 32 born1 in 1,552 babies+123%
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Masovian+72% 176 born1 in 2,013 babies+72%
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Lower Silesian+65% 75 born1 in 2,095 babies+65%
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West Pomeranian+31% 32 born1 in 2,638 babies+31%
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Greater Poland+20% 75 born1 in 2,870 babies+20%
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Łódź+1% 37 born1 in 3,425 babies+1%
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Lesser Poland−16% 55 born1 in 4,126 babies−16%
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Pomeranian−16% 36 born1 in 4,092 babies−16%
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Silesian−23% 51 born1 in 4,462 babies−23%
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Podlaskie−47% 10 born1 in 6,579 babies−47%
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Opole−55% 6 born1 in 7,683 babies−55%
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Holy Cross−56% 7 born1 in 7,919 babies−56%
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Subcarpathian−60% 14 born1 in 8,612 babies−60%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian−75% 8 born1 in 13,672 babies−75%
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Warmian-Masurian−76% 5 born1 in 14,359 babies−76%
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Lublin−80% 6 born1 in 17,113 babies−80%
Eva as a middle name
Eva is a first name for 3,759 women in Poland and a middle name for another 1,171, a 76/24 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 236th, between Nela (1,177) and Roma (1,155).
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#234 Bianka1,230
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#235 Nela1,177
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#236 Eva1,171
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#237 Roma1,155
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#238 Kamilla1,154