Ava - Meaning of Ava

What does Ava mean?

[ 2 syll. a-va, av-a ] The baby girl name Ava is also used as a boy name, though the use for girls is far more popular. It is pronounced AA-Vaa- or EY-Vaa- †.

1: Ava's origin is Germanic, and its use, English and German. The name is of obscure origin. It could be from the element aval (meaning 'strength') or avi ('desired') and the short form of various female Germanic compound names with the element 'av', such as Avaline, or else it could be of Latin or Persian roots.

It was borne by the 9th-century Saint Ava, who became a Benedictine nun at Dinart, Hainaut; she was also from the Frankish royal family. The name was not often used by the end of the medieval period, but it was later made known in high society by the Philadelphia socialite Ava Lowle Willing (1868-1958), who married the wealthy businessman John Jacob Astor IV, and subsequently Thomas Lister, Baron Ribblesdale; she named her daughter Ava as well. The name later grew popular from the fame of the actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990). In recent times, it was made popular by a number of celebrities who chose the name for their babies, including the actress Reese Witherspoon, who named her baby Ava in 1999.

The name Ava is widely used; it has 30 forms. Forms of the name include Aena, Aiva, Avada, Avae, Avah, Avail, Avais, Avalee, Avaleigh, Avaley, Avalie, Ave, Aveen, Aveis, Avelaine, Avelina, Aveline, Avelyn, Aves, Avia, Avian, Aviana, Aviance, Avianna, Avice, Avis, Avise, Avlynn, Avyce, and Avyse.

2: Ava's language of origin is Latin and it is predominantly used in German. It is derived from the word avis with the meaning 'bird'.

3: Ava has its origins in the Persian language and it is used largely in Iranian. Meaning: 'voice, song, sound'.

In addition, Ava is an English form of Eva.

Ava is also an English and German form of the English and French Eve. See also the related forms, the English Avila and the English Evelyn.

Ava is very popular as a baby girl name, and it is also perceived as rather trendy. The name has been rising in popularity since the 1980s. At the recent peak of its usage in 2007, 0.857% of baby girls were named Ava. It had a ranking of #4 then. In 2011, it ranked at #5 with a usage of 0.801%, and it was the most popular out of all girl names in its family. Ava was 4 times more commonly used than the 2nd most popular name, Eva, in 2011.

Baby names that sound like Ava include Eeva, Eva, Aba, Abah, Abba, Abbah, Abbe, Abbea, Abbeigh, Abbey, Abbi, Abbie, Abby, Abbye, Abee, Abey, Abha, Abhah, Abhy, and Abi.

† English pronunciation for Ava: AA as in "odd (AA.D)" ; V as in "vow (V.AW)"

A famous person named Ava is Actress Ava Gardner, born 24 December 1922 - 25 January 1990, Grabtown, North Carolina.