Ava

Did you know?

A few things about Ava you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Ava

Ava Gardner

American actress (1922–1990)

Choose Ava and your child shares a first name with Ava Gardner, an American actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Ava, like who?” Ava Gardner's Wikipedia article is available in 88 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Ava Gardner on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: MGM, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 208 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Ava, 7,732 babies in all. In a school of 500 kids, there'd probably be one other Ava.
• 📜HistoryAva has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Avas, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 2020, when it ranked #3. Today it's #11, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📈Then vs nowAva is 4.9× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 1,011 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 208.
• 📍Where it's lovedAva is most popular in Mississippi, where it ranks #2, followed by Rhode Island (#5) and Washington, D.C. (#7). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningIn Germanic, Ava means “possibly bird, or life”. Our records link it to Hebrew and Latin roots.
• 🌍OriginAva is the #5 most popular Hebrew girl name in the US. That's out of 1,163 Hebrew girl and unisex names in our list.
• 🔁Word funAva is a palindrome: it reads the same forwards and backwards.

About the name Ava

Ava is a girl name of Hebrew and Latin origin meaning “possibly bird, or life”. It has 3 letters and 1 syllable, starting with A and ending in “-ava”. US birth records list Ava for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 2020, when it ranked #3 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #11, with 7,732 babies.

Origin:Hebrew namesLatin names