Kevin ( / ˈ k ɛ v ɪ n / ) is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name Caoimhín ( Modern Irish: [ˈkiːvʲiːnʲ] ; Middle Irish : Caoimhghín [ˈkəiṽʲʝiːnʲ] ; Old Irish : Cóemgein [ˈkoiṽʲɣʲinʲ] ; Latinized as Coemgenus ). It is composed of caomh "dear; noble"; [1] Old Irish cóem and -gin ("birth"; Old Irish gein ). [2]
The variant Kevan is anglicized from Caoimheán , an Irish diminutive form. [3] The feminine version of the name is Caoimhe (anglicised as Keeva or Kweeva ).
Saint Kevin (d. 618) founded Glendalough abbey in the Kingdom of Leinster in 6th-century Ireland . Canonized in 1903, he is one of the patron saints of the Archdiocese of Dublin . Caomhán of Inisheer , the patron saint of Inisheer , Aran Islands , is properly anglicized Cavan or Kevan , but often also referred to as "Kevin".