Ava is a feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

in English and in other languages. Its recent popularity may be linked to a number of celebrity babies of the 1990s, some of whom were ultimately named after American actress

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...

(1922–1990).

Origin

The medieval name ''Ava'' is an abbreviation of a

Germanic name Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements ( stems), by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', meaning "noble", and ', meaning "counsel". The i ...

containing the first element ''aw-'', of uncertain meaning. Old High German (8th to 9th centuries) dithematic feminine names with this element include ''Avagisa, Avuldis, Awanpurc, Auwanildis''.

Saint Ava Saint Ava was a Benedictine abbess and is a Roman Catholic saint. Ava is commemorated on April 29; she is a patron saint of the blind. Life The niece of Pepin II of Aquitaine, she was born on April 29, 845. She was cured of blindness by the abbes ...

was a 9th-century princess, daughter of

Pepin II of Aquitaine Pepin II, called the Younger (823 – after 864 in Senlis, Oise, Senlis), was King of Aquitaine from 838 as the successor upon the death of his father, Pepin I of Aquitaine, Pepin I. Pepin II was eldest son of Pepin I and Ingeltrude, daughter ...

. Ava was also the name of a medieval German woman poet. This name is the origin of the Norman French name of Aveline, which in turn gave rise to the English given name of Evelyn. As evidence for the name is lacking between the later medieval and the modern period, the ''

Oxford Dictionary of First Names ''A Dictionary of First Names'' is an onomastics, onomastic work of reference on given names, published by Oxford University Press, edited by Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, and Flavia Hodges in 1990 and 2006. The second edition of 2006 (as pape ...

'' supposes that it was coined anew as a modern innovation, presumably as a variant of Eva,. or (like ''Eva'') used as an anglicization of the Irish name

Aoife Aoife ( , ) is an Irish and Gaelic feminine given name. The name is derived from the Irish Gaelic ''aoibh'', which means "beauty" or "radiance". It has been compared to the Gaulish name ''Esvios'' (Latinized ''Esuvius'', feminine '' Esuvia'') ...

. Āvā is also a feminine given name in the

Persian language Persian ( ), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision ...

, meaning "voice, sound". In the

Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

, Ava () may be a

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

form of either the female names Avelina,Petrovsky, p. 33 Avenira,Petrovsky, p. 34 Aventina,

Avgusta Avgusta ( or ) is a Russian Christian first name,Superanskaya, p. 250 the female form of the male first name Avgust.Petrovsky, p. 32 It is derived from the Latin word ''Augusta'', meaning ''sacred'', and was used as an honorific in ancie ...

/ Avgustina,Petrovsky, p. 32 Aviafa, Aviya (a form of

Abijah Abijah ( ') is a Biblical HebrewPetrovsky, p. 35 unisex nameSuperanskaya, p. 277 which means "my Father is Yah". The Hebrew form ' also occurs in the Bible. Old Testament characters Women * Abijah, who married King Ahaz of Judah. She is ...

),Petrovsky, p. 35 Avreliya,Petrovsky, p. 36 Avreya, and Avrora (a form of

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

), or the male names Avdey,Superanskaya, p. 21 Avel, Avenir, Aventin, Avgust, Avim, Avram (a form of

Abram Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

), Avrelian, and Avrely.

Modern use

The name was popularized in the United States by socialite

Ava Lowle Willing Ava Lowle Lister, Baroness Ribblesdale (née Willing, later Astor; September 15, 1868 – June 9, 1958) was an American socialite. She was the first wife of John Jacob Astor IV and later married Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale. Early life ...

(1868–1958), who married

John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He was among the most ...

, and their daughter, socialite and heiress

Ava Alice Muriel Astor Ava Alice Muriel Astor (July 7, 1902 – July 19, 1956) was an American heiress, socialite, and member of the Astor family. She was the daughter of John Jacob Astor IV and Ava Lowle Willing, and sister of Vincent Astor and half-sister of John Ja ...

(1902–1956). Ava Gardner in My Forbidden Past trailer

(1922–1990) signed a contract with MGM Studios in 1941 and gained Hollywood stardom with her performance in ''

The Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...

'' (1946). She became one of Hollywood's leading actresses from the 1950s to the 1970s and is the ultimate reason for the given name's continued popularity.

Recent popularity

The name is popular in the United States, where it has ranked among the top 10 most popular names given to baby girls since 2005 and among the top 200 names given to girls since 2000.Behind the Name
/ref> 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. Ava was among the five most popular names for

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

newborn girls in the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

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. One factor in its increase in popularity in English-speaking countries may have been the naming of the daughters of actress

Heather Locklear Heather Deen Locklear (born September 25, 1961) is an American actress known for her role as Amanda Woodward on '' Melrose Place'' (1993–1999), for which she received four consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress – Television Se ...

and musician

Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwriting unit for the ...

, in 1997, and of actors

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

and

Ryan Phillippe Matthew Ryan Phillippe ( ; born September 10, 1974) is an American actor. After appearing as Billy Douglas (One Life to Live), Billy Douglas on the soap opera ''One Life to Live'' (1992–1993) and making his feature film debut in ''Crimson Tide ...

in 1999. Phillippe said in a magazine interview that he and Witherspoon named their child after actress

. It was the ninth most popular name for girls in Australia and eighth in New Zealand in 2013. In 2022, it was the eighth most popular name given to girls in Canada.

Notable people

, ninth-century Roman Catholic saint * Ava (poet) (c.1060–1127), the first-named female writer in any genre in the German language * Ava (wrestler) (born 2001), American professional wrestler *

(1902–1956), American socialite, daughter of

and

* Ava Barber (born 1954) American country singer *

Ava DuVernay Ava Marie DuVernay (; born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. She is a recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, NAACP Image Awards, a British Academy Film Awards, ...

(born 1972), American film director *

(1922–1990), American actress * Ava Hutchinson (born 1983), Irish long-distance runner * Ava Lily (born 1993), English singer-songwriter *

Ava Max Amanda Ava Koci (born Amanda Koçi; February 16, 1994), known professionally as Ava Max ( ), is an American Pop music, pop singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in 2018 with the release of her breakthrough single "Sweet but Psycho". The ...

, real name Amanda Ava Koci, (born 1994), American singer * Ava McNaughton (born 2004), American ice hockey player * Ava Muhammad (1951–2022) American Black Muslim preacher and pioneering minister *

Ava Ohlgren Ava Ohlgren (born January 31, 1988) is an American competition swimmer who has represented the United States in international events. Career Ohlgren is a former NCAA champion in the 400 y IM (2007) and 200 y IM (2008). At the 2007 Pan American ...

(born 1988), American collegiate swimmer * Ava Stewart (born 2005), American-born Canadian artistic gymnast *

(1868–1958), American socialite *

Ava Yu Ava Liu Yu-Kiu (born 5 August 1985) is a Hong Kong singer, actress and television host. Early life Ava was born and raised in Hong Kong, where her junior primary studies were at the Cheung Chau Primary School, because her mother was a primary sc ...

(born 1985), Hong Kong singer, actress and television host

References

Notes

{{Reflist

Sources

*А. В. Суперанская (A. V. Superanskaya). "Современный словарь личных имён: Сравнение. Происхождение. Написание" (''Modern Dictionary of First Names: Comparison. Origins. Spelling''). Айрис-пресс. Москва, 2005. ISBN 5-8112-1399-9 *Н. А. Петровский (N. A. Petrovsky). "Словарь русских личных имён" (''Dictionary of Russian First Names''). ООО Издательство "АСТ". Москва, 2005. ISBN 5-17-002940-3 English-language feminine given names Feminine given names Given names