From 1954's The Barefoot Contessa; Image via Wikipedia

She’s Biblical, saintly, international, Hollywood-glam, and nature-themed, too.  Is it any wonder she has become one of the most popular names of our time?

Thanks to Meredith for suggesting Ava as Baby Name of the Day.

That’s the legendary Ava Gardner in the picture to the right, and along with Audrey, Natalie, Harlow, and Bardot,  Tinsel Town often gets credit for encouraging parents to choose Ava for their daughters.  While the Carolina farm girl who shed her drawl to become an Oscar-nominated star quickly comes to mind, that’s not quite the way the story really goes.

Ava’s possible origins are many:

• She’s often listed as a variant of Eve.  If you remember our discussion of Eva, you’ll recall that Eva Gabor pronounced her name like Ava – and she’s not alone;
• Plenty of Germanic names start with the element av.  There’s much debate about that bit’s meaning, but gems like Aveza, Avia, Avacyn, and Avekin can be dredged from various historical documents;
• Speaking of history, there’s a ninth-century Saint Ava, usually listed as a daughter of Pepin, King of the Franks, and thus a descendant of Charlemagne;
• I’m sure this is a fluke, but I couldn’t help but notice that the Franks often found themselves up against the nomadic Avars, eventually absorbed by Hungarians – couldn’t confirm origin of their name;
• Some sources list her as a Persian name meaning voice;
• It is impossible to overlook her similarity to the Latin avis - bird.

When Gardner’s parents chose the name, Ava was unusual but not obscure.  She’d ranked in the US Top 1000 every year since 1880.  Gardner initially bolstered a falling name, leading Ava to #376 in 1954.  But though Gardner’s career was long, her name’s popularity didn’t last.  Perhaps it was her reputation as a homewrecker after Frank Sinatra famously left wife Nancy to wed Ava.

Ava did appear as a popular television character in the late 1960s – only we knew her as Buffy.  Family Affair’s tale of three cute orphans moving in with their man-about-town uncle usually referred to the moppets as Cissy, Jody, and Buffy, but their formal names were Catherine, Jonathan, and Ava Elizabeth.

As Family Affair left the small screen, Ava fell completely out of favor and wasn’t seen in the rankings through the 1980s.

If Hollywood didn’t invent Ava in the first place, it should get credit for her resurgence.  Starbabies called Ava include:

• Heather Locklear and Richie Sambora’s 1997-born daughter when the name ranked #618;
• Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe’s 1999-born daughter, Ava Elizabeth arrived when her name charted at #259;
• By the time Hugh Jackman’s daughter, Ava Eliot, made her appearance in 2005, Ava charted at #9;
• More recently, Caroline Rhea, James Otto, Kevin Dillon, and Andrea Roth all welcomed girls called Ava.

Smashing Pumpkins’ 1998 single “Ava Adore” and masterfully creepy video lent the name some edge.

Today parents eager to find something just a little different from Ava and her surname cousin Avery are experimenting with everything from elaborations like Aveline and Avaleigh to similar-but-unrelated choices from Aven to Avalon.

Despite her popularity, Ava still retains much of her Hollywood sheen.  She’s as appropriate on a child as an adult.  But with ever so many little girls answering to Ava, some parents are certainly seeking less popular options.