And contrary to prevalent assumptions, Eve does not trick Adam into eating the fruit, nor does he blame Eve for anything-a true gentleman? Or was his decision a choice he had to make to evolve a sense of consciousness? Paradoxically, when God condemns Adam to death for eating the fruit, it is at that precise moment that Adam gives his "help mate" a name-Eve,"because she was the mother of all living" (3:20). When God condemns Adam to death, Adam finds life in Eve. (In the Koran, Adam and Eve eat the fruit together, so the question of which one is guilty does not apply: they both share the guilt equally.)

Because of the Biblical story, Eve bears a burden-associations with an uppity, thoughtless woman, who lures men to suffering and death. On the other hand, Eve is associated with youth, beauty, and fecundity. So how has this affected the popularity of the name? The name has never been very popular in the US: its highest rating was 520th at the beginning of the 20th century and 538th in 2000, but it is now dropping again.²  Eve is not a popular name in France either.³ In Canada and English speaking Europe, however, it varies from the top 25 to 100. Why is Eve so much more popular in Canada and English speaking Europe than in the US and France? Does the name carry more religious baggage in France and the US? It would appear so.

Why does Eve become more popular in the late 1800's to crest in the first decade of the 1900's? The first mention of Eve in the New York Times appears the same year the paper is first published in 1851with Sojouner Truth's address to the Ohio Women's Rights Association. Truth (aka Isabella Baumfree), a black woman who had escaped slavery, was a prominent abolitionist. She observed if one woman-Eve-could cause the downfall of mankind, then the female abolitionists could surely put it right again. Eve appears repeatedly in New York Times discussions about women's rights, which may help explain why the name spikes in the 1880's and then reaches it's greatest popularity in the US in the early 1900's. Melodramas with Eve in the title blossom during the early1900's. In 1914, the Nippur tablets, 1000 years older than the Bible, make no mention of Eve and the snake. On the contrary, woman was even described as a creator, which stirred up heated controversy as you might imagine. Mark Twain wrote several works about Adam and Eve, including Eve's Diary, which was banned in 1905, Eve Speaks, and the Autobiography of Eve. A New York Times article during prohibition, "The Vindication of Eve," (1920) maintains that the source of man's perdition is not Eve, but alcohol. As Eve is momentarily gathering all this positive press, including the Eves of Massenet and Rodin, she is simultaneously facing forces that will eventually challenge her very identity.

In 1859, Darwin published his Origin of the Species that could be considered only a scientific theory until the anthropological discoveries of Louis and Richard Leary, a father-son team. The Leakys' were discovering skeletal remains in Africa that indicated mankind's origins were in Africa, not the Near East, and that mankind had evolved slowly from the apes. Louis started publishing in the 1930's. Richard is still alive. As far as science was concerned, the biblical Eve had lost her right to be considered the mother of mankind. However, Eve faced yet more challenges. In the early 1900's, the publications of Freud and Jung, among others, began exploring hidden psychological motivations for our actions. Two world wars didn't leave much room for thoughts of Eden. The broad psychological fall out became apparent with two movies.

All About Eve (1950), a popular movie staring Bette Davis, is the cyclical story of the younger woman who seeks to replace the older. All About Eve was nominated for fourteen Academy Awards and won six (more than any other movie until "Titanic" in 1997) and still holds the record for four female acting nominations. The Three Faces of Eve, about a woman with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder or multiple personality), was made into a movie in 1957. Like Bette Davis, Jane Woodward won an Oscar for best actress. Although these movies were psychologically intriguing, they did not help the popularity of the name. All About Eve depicts women as forever preying on one another-the younger woman just waiting to pounce and replace the older. The Three Faces of Eve was one of the first popular depictions of DID, a mental disorder about which Americans remain largely ignorant, even today. Considering the burden of guilt associated with the name, the disillusionment created by two world wars, the revelations of anthropological studies, and the unpleasant psychological realities of All About Eve and The Three Faces of Eve, it's not surprising that Eve eventually drops off the name chart-below 1,000th-from 1970 to 1997.

In 2000, Eve is almost as popular as it was in the early 1900's, but it has continued to drop in popularity since then. Why did Eve suddenly jump in popularity in 2000? Perhaps because of the entertainer Eve Jihan Jeffers, a singer and actress. Her song "You Got Me" won a Grammy in 2000. Since the first Eve was an Africa, it's appropriate that an African entertainer should bring back the name. The popularity of the name may yet increase because of the online game "Eve," which involves new planetary systems in a distant future.⁴  Eve has taken us through mankind's evolution in our understanding of identity, which will continue to change as our knowledge of ourselves and the universe evolves. As our sense of self evolves, so should our sense of Eve.

 

[1] All biblical quotes are from the King James Bible.

[2] Baby Names World: “Eve,” http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/meaning_of_Eve.html

[3] Guide des Prénoms—Doctissimo— “Prénom EVE, Signification, popularité et origine dy prénom Eve,” http://prenoms.doctissimo.fr/EVE-2724.html

[4] Wikipedia, “Eve Online,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve_Online