Fun Facts About the Name Yvon
- 276 babies named Yvon: U.S. records list 276 babies given the name Yvon from 1880 through 2025. Even 47 girls received the name Yvon - about 1 girl for every 5 boys.
What Does the Name Yvon Mean?
Yvon is a French masculine given name meaning "yew" or "yew tree." It goes back to the Germanic name element īwa, the yew, the same root found in the names Ivo and Yves.
Yvon is most closely tied to Yves. French frequently makes a familiar or diminutive form of a name by adding -on, as in Marion from Marie or Colin from Nicolas, and Yves plus -on yields Yvon. The feminine Yvonne belongs to the same family. The literal sense of the root is the yew tree itself. Because yew wood was valued for making longbows, the name has also been explained as "archer," but that is a later association drawn from the tree's use rather than the basic meaning of the word.
Yvon Name History & Origins
The name rests on the continental Germanic personal name Ivo, formed from the element for the yew. The yew is a long-lived evergreen that was planted in churchyards and used for bow staves in the Middle Ages. Forms such as Ivo, Yves, and Ives appear across medieval Europe. The Norman conquest carried Ivo into England, where it remained in limited use in the Middle Ages before fading.
In the French-speaking world the name spread in part through the cult of Saint Yves (Ivo) of Kermartin (1253 - 1303), a Breton priest and lawyer canonized in 1347 who became a patron of lawyers and a central figure in Breton devotion. That devotion helped keep the whole family of names - Yves, Yvon, and Yvonne - in use in Brittany and nearby regions. In France, Yves was the ordinary masculine form, while Yvon began as a familiar or diminutive version of it and later stood on its own. French speakers took both forms to Quebec, Acadia, Louisiana, and the Caribbean, so Yvon is also found in those communities, and it exists as a French surname as well.
Yvon should not be confused with Yvan, which is usually a French spelling of the Slavic name Ivan (from Greek Ioannes, "John") and belongs to a different origin.
How Popular is the Name Yvon?
Yvon has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1958. Its best rank was #2,173 in 1958.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | #15,736 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #9,551 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1990 | #15,221 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #10,390 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1967 | #7,845 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1966 | #7,614 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1957 | #5,371 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1956 | #6,885 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | #13,188 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1998 | #9,617 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #10,148 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #7,570 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #4,549 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1977 | #5,119 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #4,010 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1974 | #5,219 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1972 | #5,746 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1969 | #3,592 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1967 | #3,556 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1966 | #4,538 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #4,589 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1963 | #3,319 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1962 | #4,032 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #4,064 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1960 | #3,335 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1959 | #2,197 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 1958 | #2,173 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 1955 | #3,501 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1954 | #3,173 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1953 | #3,423 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1946 | #4,014 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1942 | #3,209 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1941 | #4,000 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1936 | #2,625 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1934 | #4,200 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1933 | #4,151 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1932 | #3,775 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1928 | #4,144 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1927 | #4,796 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1925 | #3,405 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1916 | #3,894 | 6 | 0.0007% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Yvon Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual. You hate bondage in any form. You have love of beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You are willing to take spiritual matters on faith instead of subjecting them to mental analysis. You are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Yvon's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Yvon's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.