Ava (given name)
| Pronunciation | English: /ˈeɪ.və/ |
|---|---|
| Gender | Feminine |
| Language | English |
| Origin | |
| Languages | Old High German, Russian |
| Derivation | Old High German: Aw- Russian: Ав- |
| Meaning | Unknown |
| Other names | |
| Derivatives | Aveline, Avis, Eva |
| Derived | Avel, Avelina, Avenir, Avenira, Aventin, Aventina, Aviafa, Avim, Aviya, August, Augusta |
| Related names | Aibhilín, Éibhleann |
Ava (English pronunciation: /ˈeɪ.və/) is an English feminine given name.
Origin
The name originates from the 8th and 9th centuries during the Middle Ages as an abbreviation of Germanic names containing the element aw-, which is of uncertain meaning.[1][2] Old High German compound dithematic names with the element include Avagisa, Avuldis, Awanpurc, and Auwanildis.[1] The Oxford Dictionary of First Names supports the Germanic origin of Ava and additionally attributes Avis and Eva as derivatives that share the av‑ element.[2] The dictionary also supposes that the name Aveline, source of the Irish names Éibhleann and Aibhilín,[2] is a derivative of Ava.[2]
The Dictionary of Russian Personal Names lists that in the Russian language, Ava (А́ва) is a derivative of various masculine and feminine given names. These names include August, Augusta,[3] Avelina, Avenir, Avenira and Aventina,[3] and rare old names such as Avel, Aventin,[3] Aviafa, Avim and Aviya.[4]
Use
There are fewer records of the name following the Middle Ages, and the Oxford Dictionary of First Names suggests it could also have been a modern invention.[2] However, it gained popularity for babies during the 1950s.[2][5] It then continued to gain popularity through leading Hollywood actress Ava Gardner.[2][5] The name was also popularized in the United States by socialite Ava Lowle Willing (1868–1958) and her daughter, socialite and heiress Ava Alice Muriel Astor (1902–1956).
The name has been rising in popularity in the United States since the mid-1990s, but had its most dramatic jump in popularity in 1998, when it was the 350th most popular name for baby girls, jumping 268 places up the chart from 618th place in 1997.[6][7] Ava was among the five most popular names for Black newborn girls in the American state of Virginia in 2022 and again in 2023. It was also among the top five names given to girls born to Asian mothers in Virginia in 2023.[8][9] One factor in its increase in popularity in English-speaking countries may have been the naming of the daughters of actress Heather Locklear and musician Richie Sambora,[10][11] in 1997, and of actors Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe in 1999.[12] Phillippe said in a magazine interview that he and Witherspoon named their child after actress Ava Gardner.[13]
As of 2024, Ava is the ninth most popular female baby name in the United States and the tenth in Canada.[14][15] Additionally in 2023, it was the sixth most popular female baby name across England, Wales and New South Wales,[16][17][18] and the twentieth most popular in New Zealand in 2025.[19]
Notable people named Ava
See also
References
- ^ a b Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1847), 190 adduces OHG awa "flowing water" and Gothic awō "grandmother"
- ^ a b c d e f g Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 59, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c Petrovsky, p. 34
- ^ Petrovsky, p. 36
- ^ a b "English Names (page 2) – Behind the Name". www.behindthename.com. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ^ Behind the Name
- ^ Popular Baby Names
- ^ "Virginia Department of Health's Office of Vital Records Announces Top Fifteen Baby Names of 2022, Other Interesting Virginia Birth Data". 23 January 2023.
- ^ "Virginia Department of Health's Office of Vital Records Announces Top Baby Names of 2023, Other Interesting Virginia Birth Data". 6 February 2024.
- ^ Satran, Pamela Redmond and Rosenkrantz, Linda. (2008) Cool Names for Babies, p. 71. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-37786-1
- ^ "Baby Name of the Day: Ava | Appellation Mountain". Archived from the original on 2011-12-06. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
- ^ Satran, Pamela Redmond and Rosenkrantz, Linda (2007). The Baby Name Bible: The Ultimate Guide by America's Baby Naming Experts, pp. 27. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-35220-4
- ^ "In Step with Ryan Philippe". Parade Magazine. 3-23-2008 Archived April 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Popular Baby Names | SSA". www.ssa.gov. Archived from the original on 2026-02-07. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2025-09-24). "Canada's most popular baby names in 2024". www150.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ "Most popular boys' and girls' names of 2024 revealed". BBC News. 2025-07-31. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ "Baby names in England and Wales – Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (2020-01-31). "Popular baby names | NSW Government". www.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ "The most popular baby names for 2025 revealed". RNZ. 2026-01-08. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
Sources
- Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 24–25, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1 – via Google Books
- Петровский, Никандр Александрович (Petrovsky, Nikandr Alexandrovich) (1966). Словарь русских личных имён (Dictionary of Russian Personal Names). ООО Издательство "АСТ". Москва, 2005. ISBN 5-17-002940-3.