List of people with given name Ava
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Notable people with the given name Ava include (left to right) actress Ava Gardner, filmmaker Ava DuVernay and socialite Ava Lowle Willing.
Ava is a feminine given name used in the English, German and Russian languages. This is a list of notable people who bear the given name Ava, including people who use the name as a pseudonym or stage name, and fictional characters given the name.
The name originates from the 8th and 9th centuries during the Middle Ages as an abbreviation of Germanic names containing the first 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,[3] is a derivative of Ava.[2] The Dictionary of Russian Personal Names lists that Ava (А́ва), in the Russian language, is a derivative of various masculine and feminine given names including: August, Augusta,[4] Avelina, Avenir, Avenira and Aventina,[5] and rare old names such as Avel, Aventin,[5] Aviafa, Avim and Aviya.[6]
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][7] It then continued to gain popularity through leading Hollywood actress Ava Gardner.[2][7] As of 2024[update], Ava is the ninth most popular female baby name in the United States and the tenth in Canada.[8][9] Additionally in 2023, it was the sixth most popular female baby name across England, Wales and New South Wales,[10][11][12] and the twentieth most popular in New Zealand in 2025.[13]
A–E
[edit]- Saint Ava, Roman Catholic saint
- Ava of Cerdanya (died 961), countess consort of Cerdanya and Besalú
- Ava of Ribagorza, Countess of Castile, countess consort of Castile
- Ava (c. 1060–1127), first named female writer in any genre in the German language
- Ava Acres, American actress
- Ava Alam (1947–1976), Bangladeshi classical singer and music teacher
- Ava Anderson, Viscountess Waverley (1895–1974), English political and social hostess
- Ava Alice Muriel Astor (1902–1956), American socialite
- Ava Baker, (born 2006) English footballer
- Ava Barber (born 1954), American country singer
- Ava Berkofsky, American cinematographer
- Ava Boutilier (born 1999), Canadian ice hockey player
- Ava Brennan (born 1987), English film and theatre actress
- Ava Cadell (born 1956), Hungarian actor and writer
- Ava Canning (born 2004), Irish cricketer
- Ava Cantrell, American actress and dancer
- Ava Capri, American actress
- Ava Cherry (born 1953), American singer and model
- Ava Collins (born 2002), New Zealand association football player
- Ava Cook (born 1998), American soccer player
- Ava Crean, Irish long-distance runner
- Ava Wong Davies (born 1996), British playwright and screenwriter
- Ava de Lagercrantz (1862–1938), Swedish portrait painter
- Ava Della Pietra (born 2005), American singer and songwriter
- Ava Deluca-Verley (born 1989), American actress
- Ava Dobson (born 2008), American racing driver
- Ava DuVernay (born 1972), American filmmaker
- Ava Easton, health scientist and researcher
- Ava Everett (born 1995), American professional wrestler
F–J
[edit]- Ava Fabian (born 1962), American model and actress
- Ava Flanell (born 1986), American influencer and politician
- Ava Gardner (1922–1990), American actress
- Ava Gerber (born 1961), American artist
- Ava Rossana Guevara, Honduran journalist and politician
- Ava Leavell Haymon, American writer
- Ava Heiden, American college basketball player
- Ava Holmgren (born 2005), Canadian cyclist
- Ava Homa, Iranian Kurdish writer, journalist
- Ava Hutchinson (born 1981), Irish long-distance runner (born 1983)
- Ava Jones (born 2005), American former basketball player
- Ava June (1931–2013), English singer and opera singer
K–O
[edit]- Ava Knight (born 1988), American boxer and mixed martial arts fighter
- Ava Kolker (born 2006), American actress and singer
- Ava Kuyken (born 2001), English footballer
- Ava Lazar, American actress
- Ava Lee (born 2005), English cricket
- Ava Lloyd (born 2005), British middle-distance runner
- Ava Lowery (born 1995), American activist and filmmaker
- Ava Markham (born 1995), American tennis player
- Ava Matthey (born 1991), real name of Moon, Swiss Romani drag performer
- Ava McNaughton (born 2004), American ice hockey player
- Ava Mendoza (born 1983), American avant-garde guitarist, vocalist, and composer
- Ava Michelle (born 2002), American actress
- Ava Milam Clark (1884–1976), American home economist
- Ava Mukherjee (c. 1929–2018), Indian film and television actress
- Ava Muhammad (1951–2022), American Islamic minister
- Ava O'Connor (born 2003), Irish track and field athlete
- Ava Ohlgren (born 1988), American swimmer
P–T
[edit]- Ava Helen Pauling (1903–1981), American human rights activist
- Ava Pickett (born 1993 or 1994), British screenwriter and playwright
- Ava Preacher (1953–2021), American gender studies professor
- Ava Reid (born 1993), American author
- Ava Rinker (born 2002), American ice hockey player
- Ava Rocha (born 1979), Brazilian singer and songwriter
- Ava Roth, Canadian contemperary artist
- Ava Seymour (born 1967), New Zealand artist
- Ava Shamban, American celebrity dermatologist
- Ava Smith (born 1988), American fashion model
- Ava Stewart (born 2005), Canadian artistic gymnast
- Ava Tankersley (born 2002), American soccer player
U–Z
[edit]- Ava Usher (born 2007), Australian rules footballer
- Ava Verdeflor (born 1999), Filipino-American former artistic gymnast
- Ava Vidal (born 1976), English comedian
- Ava Carroll Waller (1927–2014) American preservationist, writer and former First Lady of Mississippi
- Ava Webster (born 2009 or 2010), British actress
- Ava Lowle Willing (1868–1958), American socialite
- Ava Yaman (born 2006), Turkish actress
- Ava Yu (born 1985), Hong Kong singer, actress and television host
- Ava Marie Ziegler (born 2006), American former figure skater
Pseudonyms
[edit]- AVA, English singer
- AVA, pseudonym of Éabha McMahon (born 1990), Irish singer
- Ava (born 2001), American professional wrestler
- Ava (born 1996), Italian record producer, DJ, and beatmaker
- Ava, stage name of Lee Jung-hyun (born 1980), South Korean singer and actress
- Ava Cordero, (born c. 1983), American former model
- Ava Leigh (born 1985), English singer
- Ava Lily (born 1993), English singer-songwriter
- Ava Lovelace, pen name of Delilah S. Dawson (born 1977), American author
- Ava Max (born 1994), American singer and songwriter
- Ava Storie, former stage name of Brandi Lauren (born 1996), American model and professional wrestler
Fictional characters
[edit]- Ava Ayala, given name of White Tiger, Marvel Comics
- Ava Hartman, EastEnders
- Ava Jerome, General Hospital
- Ava Lord, Sin City
- Ava Vitali, Days of Our Lives
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1847), 190 adduces OHG awa "flowing water" and Gothic awō "grandmother"
- ^ a b c d e f 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.
- ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 66, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1 – via Google Books
- ^ Petrovsky, p. 34
- ^ a b Petrovsky, p. 35
- ^ Petrovsky, p. 36
- ^ a b "English Names (page 2) – Behind the Name". www.behindthename.com. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ^ "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.
Books
[edit]- 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.
