Ava (given name)

Ava is a feminine given name derived from the name Eve, which is derived from the Hebrew word "chavah" (Hebrew: חַוָּה), meaning "life". Another source notes that there was a Frankish ninth century Saint Ava, whose name was probably derived from the Germanic root avi, meaning "desired", related to Evelyn, but the English Ava seems to date from the nineteenth century as a variant of Eva. It has also been used as an Anglicization of the Celtic name Aoife, which means "radiant".

The name is increasingly popular in the United States, where it was the most popular name given to baby girls in several states in 2006 and the fourth most popular name nationwide in 2007, and in Canada, where it is among the 10 most popular given names for baby girls in several provinces.

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. One factor in its increase in popularity may have been the naming of the daughters of actress Heather Locklear and musician Richie Sambora, in 1997, and of actors Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe in 1999. Phillippe said in a recent magazine interview that he and Witherspoon named their child after actress Ava Gardner.

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