Avery belongs to a famous fictional newscaster’s mother – and son. The duo is back in the spotlight after many years away.
Thanks to Kelly for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day, and to C in DC for suggesting it was time for an update.
Avery: Alfred
Back in the Middle Ages, King Alfred the Great held off the invading Danes. That was the 900s, more than a century before the Normans swept into England, transforming the language – and with it, given names.
The Old English name came from elements meaning elf and counsel. The king’s fame was such that his name survived the Norman conquest – or, at least, was sufficiently famous to be revived from time to time.
It transformed over the years, and surnames developed, including Alvery and Alvere, as well as the French Auvre, and, of course, Avery.
For as long as we’ve been recording given name data in the US, Alfred has ranked in the US Top 1000 for boys. The same is true for Avery.
Except their trendlines look very different.
Avery: Murphy’s Mom
Back in 1988, the world met hard-hitting journalist Murphy Brown. It was the age of Ashley and Courtney, so Murphy was different, but perhaps not an impossible stretch.
And then we meet Avery Brown, Murph’s mom. Veteran actor Colleen Dewhurst earned an Emmy for the role. She first appeared on screen in 1989, and the name more than doubled in use over the next two years.
After all, Murphy Brown wasn’t just a hit television series. It leapt into the real world news, too. And there’s a baby in the plot, Murphy’s son – who she names after her mom. By that time, Dewhurst had passed away, and the series chose to write her passing into the storyline.
Avery: Murphy’s Son
So yes, the Avery Brown in the latter half of the series is a boy. During the 1990s, the name galloped up the charts, moreso for girls. By 2000, it had broken into the girls’ Top 200, and hovered within the boys’ Top 250.
But by the time the Murphy Brown reboot picked up in 2018? Mr. Brown is all grown up, and a reporter in his own right.
And his name? It appears in the Top 20 for girls. While it’s still in the boys’ Top 200, for many families, this name belongs to the girls.
Avery: The Others
Of course, it’s not just the Brown family who embraced the name.
Years before, EB White gave the name to Fern Arable’s brother in Charlotte’s Web. The novel was published in 1952; the enduring animated movie came along 21 years later.
Male characters in John Grisham thriller The Firm and television hit Nashville answered to the name. The novel debuted in 1991; the television series came along in 2012. The name remained reasonably masculine, and maybe slightly Southern, all that time.
American Dad! includes a character by the name, voiced by Patrick Stewart.
In 1996, Jerry Maguire’s girlfriend – the one who dumps him at the beginning of the story – also answered to Avery.
Since then, there have been too many to count.
Avery: Emily meets Ava
There’s no mystery why this name caught on for girls. Just like Aubrey seemed a logical successor to Audrey, Avery combined the sounds of chart-topping Emily and fast-rising Ava.
We’ve long loved three-syllable, ends-with-y girl names. And sporty, unisex-style surname names have plenty of appeal, too.
Avery: Truly Unisex
Some argue that this name’s popularity for girls means it’s off-limits for our sons. But the numbers don’t bear that out.
In 2017, over 8,000 girls were named Avery, compared to just over 2,000 boys. Back in 1998, just under 1,250 girls received the name, along with just under 1,250 boys. So while it’s skyrocketed in use for our daughters, it’s also gained steadily in use for our sons.
If there is a girl penalty – a decrease in parents considering for boys because it’s perceived as too feminine – it’s not enough to put the name out of use.
Thanks to the surname, it’s also the name of a brewing company in Colorado and a crater on the moon. If you work in an office – or have ever set foot in an office supply store – you almost certainly know Avery Dennison. That sounds like a high school senior, but they manufacture an endless array of labels and other essentials, like printable name tags.
Avery: 21st Century Staple
Preppy and crisp, this name has enjoyed considerable popularity for the last two decades, and shows little sign of disappearing – though it’s fallen in use slightly in recent years.
With a high profile masculine Avery back on the small screen, that might be enough to cement it among names like Jordan, Rowan, and Charlie that feel truly wearable for boys and girls alike.
Do you like Avery better for a son or a daughter?
First published on July 18, 2011, this post was revised substantially and re-posted on November 28, 2018.
I like Avery, but only for a girl. I think most surnames ending in -y sound too feminine to be used for boys.
Don’t be silly–no you don’t. Is Billy not masculine? Joey? Bobby? Willie? Charlie? Opie? Jamie? Eddie? Stevie? These are diminutives, obviously, but that doesn’t make them feminine–as indicated by decades if not centuries of naming practices.
Whoa, GrynethPaltrow. You’re right that a ‘y’ ending doesn’t indicate gender. But Virginia is perfectly entitled to feel that ‘y’ ending surnames lean feminine. And, in this case, usage is on her side. While Avery remains in use for boys and girls, it is much more popular for girls.
My formal comments policy is this: Please comment with a generous spirit. It’s not “silly” to feel that a name is better for boys or girls. It’s an opinion, and as long as they are expressed with kindness, they’re all welcome here.
I have a 5 month old neice named Gracie. My sister had picked out the name Avery if she were a boy. Firstly because she knew a boy with the last name Avery when she was younger and always loved the name…and Secondly because she discovered its connection with Alfred which is our grandfather’s middle name. I LOVE the name Avery for a boy and I look forward possiblilty of a future nephew.
Pre-Murphy Brown, the only Avery I was familiar with was the Spenser For Hire actor Avery Brooks. Since he tends to play bold and no-nonsense characters, the name feels tough and aggressive. When Colleen Dewhurst’s character’s was named Avery it also seemed suitable for such a domineering mother. (At the time, I was so proud of myself when I guessed correctly that he would be named after his grandma.)
I still think Avery seems “tough” and it feels more appealing on a boy.
I was going to mention Brooks from Deep Space Nine.
I went to school with a girl whose surname is Avery, so I think of Avery as very unisex. That said, I really prefer Avery on a boy. In fact, Avery is one of the few ends-in-y surname names I like for boys.
I don’t think Avery is headed the way of Ashley, not with a #210 ranking for boys. Now if Avery gets to the Top 10 or Top 5 for girls, maybe it’ll be another story. I guess only time will tell 🙂
I know birds can be girlsy, but I should’ve said Aviaries and stationery” Not birds. My bad! 🙂
It has only been recently that I even heard of this name (never saw Murphy Brown) and it sounded and looked feminine to me, so I was surprised when I have seen people defending it so arduantly as a boys name. Looking at the rankings it is certainly interesting (and counter to normal belief) that it is rising in popularity as a boys name almost off the back of the rising popularity in it being a girl’s name too. I can certainly see this as being a unisex name.
ha! I always think about Murphy Brown in connection to Avery also- I thought I was the only one! I have to confess I’ve loved it since that baby was born!
I like Avery on boys too. The associations: birds & stationery don’t belong on girls, I think. I would be weirded out if I met a girl Avery. Thank goodness I haven’t yet! 😀
About the only other Av- name I like on boys is Avi.
Birds don’t belong on girls? I disagree. I find birds very feminine, and I think you’ve probably heard the nickname Birdie before.
And Wren, and Robin, and Avis and Dove and Teal…
Robin is a boys name in some places though (and would not even be considered as a girl’s name), e.g. the UK.
There is Raven too which I think is a girl’s name (although I could see it working for a boy too).
I like the name Avery, but mostly on boys only. There are very few Av- male names out there, it would be nice if this one didnt become the next Ashley, but it seems like it will unfortunately.
Avery can be derived from the name Aubrey (from Alberich), and its feminine counterpart, Albreda. Maybe also from Aelfric, but Surname Database doesn’t give Alfred as a source.
https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/avery
When I hear the name Avery, all I can think of is the word “aviary” … 🙂
You’re right, Waltzing – they’re both legit origins for Avery. The evolution given there – Alfrey, Affrey, Avery – actually seems more likely. I just checked Kate Monk’s list of Saxon names, and she gives Avery-like forerunners to both the Alfred and Albert/Alberic clusters. (https://tekeli.li/onomastikon/England-Medieval/Saxon.html) Chalk it up to another case of the same name evolving from two similar sources, or even more – that aelf (elf) element was popular.
Surname DB is very often wrong, Waltzing!
From a linguistics point of view, Avery comes from Alfred. All the early examples support it. Of course, over the centuries, it’s perfectly plausible that Aubrey and Avery might get mixed up and there’s certainly some confusion and mixing up among a number of the
I’m sure it’s one of those cases of multiple sources that are very hard to identify, and with “elf” names so common at that time, almost impossible to unravel!
(I know SDB isn’t always correct, but in this case, I thought they made a good argument – it’s hard to see de Aubri as coming from anything other than Aubrey).