Helen Krummenacker avona@jps.net wrote:

Haven't I heard the name "Devon" in real life before? That could be where deva comes from. Or it could be a double change... strating as a woman's name at some point, as "Diva", becomes popular, is used for men, too eventually, but with a slight spellign change. Eventually name dies down in popularity but still appears occaissionally.

I understand the name 'Shirley' started as a place name, became a man's name & is now a woman's name. (and Julian was once a woman's name btw)

Jacqui