I’m trying to avoid using [name]Ava[/name] but what can I say, after all this time I still [name]LOVE[/name] it. I’ve been reading through forum posts, and blog posts and just talking to people in my community and everyone is like OMG [name]Ava[/name] while rolling eyes, another [name]Ava[/name] ugh, [name]Ava[/name] is the next [name]Jennifer[/name] blah blah blah. I feel like no one gives that kind of wrap to [name]Isabella[/name] or [name]Sophia[/name] which have way way way higher numbers than [name]Ava[/name]. Plus [name]Ava[/name] just has pretty much one other somewhat used variant [name]Avah[/name], and has topped out at #4 in 2007…compared to [name]Isabella[/name]/[name]Izabella[/name]/[name]Isabelle[/name]/[name]Isabel[/name]/[name]Isobel[/name] etc…[name]Sophia[/name]/[name]Sofia[/name] etc. I think it’s because a few annoying celebrities have used the name so that maybe makes the association higher? IDK. In my area I have been looking through the hospital records and [name]Ava[/name] is #10 on the list for our area. We have way more [name]Lilly[/name] variants, [name]Mia[/name]'s, Maddisons, Olivias, and [name]Sophia[/name] is #2 and [name]Sofia[/name] is #4 in my area and [name]Isabella[/name] is still #1. I just feel like the name sparks something in people. Either people are like oh it’s popular but nice…or they just go off on how it’s everywhere and your kid will be one of 20 in her class and dated to this generation, and it’s so trendy and basically the worst, yet the numbers don’t really reflect that as much as other names. And yet when I was considering [name]Sophia[/name] which is 3 times more popular in my area just considering the “ph” spelling had 150 births and the f spelling had 55 births vs 44 [name]Ava[/name] births last year, people don’t say anything negative about it being SO CRAZY POPULAR, when it actually is? Any theories???
Theories? It could be a regional thing. Or, people like to find patterns, so if they hear about two Avas within a week, they think it’s everywhere. Or, on nameberry, the authors have a book “Beyond [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Aiden[/name],” so the name [name]Ava[/name] gets that super popular connotation.
I have heard people say the same thing about [name]Isabella[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name] many, many times.
For the record, I think the simplicity of the name [name]Ava[/name], along with its old Hollywood feel, makes it a lovely choice no matter the numbers.
In [name]England[/name] it was relatively obscure until late 2000. In 2003 it was ranked at #164, in 2007 at #38, and in 2011 at #9. That’s a huge [name]Ava[/name] boom. There are [name]Ava[/name]'s everywhere here, it’s one of the names I hear most often. It is very pretty though, one of my goddaughter’s is named [name]Ava[/name].
I think the other commenters are correct: [name]Ava[/name] is a lovely name but has had a meteoric rise over the past decade which makes it a trendy favorite – and it feels even more omnipresent thanks to [name]Eva[/name] which is often pronounced the same. And yes, we used it in the title of our book to indicate a name that was pandemic at the moment. Sorry!
I wasn’t calling you out [name]Pam[/name]! 
If it wasn’t [name]Ava[/name], it would have been something else.
I live in Massachusetts and teach second grade. I have taught at least one [name]Ava[/name] every year. There are multiple Avas in the school. I would say along with [name]Sofia[/name]/[name]Sophia[/name], it is the most common girls’ name I hear. There is nothing wrong with the name, and I guess it does depend on region, but in general, it is still very popular.
I know a couple little Avas, but I think it’s FAR from being the next [name]Jennifer[/name] (actually, I dont think any current popular names are anywhere close to the next [name]Jennifer[/name], the numbers just aren’t the same these days). I don’t know why it would be perceived as more popular than [name]Sophia[/name]/[name]Isabella[/name]/etc…to some extent it just depends on the names people run into, most people (off nameberry that is) dont actually memorize the SSA lists. If I didn’t look at lists, I’d swear [name]Lydia[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name], and [name]Stella[/name] must be top 10 names, I seem to hear them everywhere.
I’m strongly considering [name]Olivia[/name] at the moment so I understand the worry of peoples’ reactions to a popular name, but I also don’t think you should let that make your decision. Think about how you’ll feel down the road if you name your daughter something else and you meet someone with a little [name]Ava[/name]. If it will sting and make you wish you had your own [name]Ava[/name], then I think you need to go ahead and use it.
I work with kids and don’t encounter too many Avas. I think it may be a regional thing, but there also aren’t really any variants. You’ve got [name]Ava[/name], [name]Eva[/name], and [name]Ada[/name], but there really aren’t any spelling variants (at least not widely used ones) and they’re usually all pronounced differently, so that may make it seem less common than [name]Sofia[/name]/[name]Sophia[/name] or [name]Madalyn[/name]/[name]Madelyn[/name]/[name]Madeline[/name]/[name]Madeleine[/name] etc… I think [name]Ava[/name]'s a great name and I have no problem with the popularity, but the trendiness (sudden rise to popularity) makes me think it may seem dated in the future.
If you love this name, go for it- it’s a great name, that’s why it’s popular!
Yeah I have the book 
I bought it when I was pregnant with my last daughter and almost named her [name]Ava[/name]…I had to hide it from myself b/c everytime I see it I chuck [name]Ava[/name] back out the window as a possibility! It really just boils down to the fact that we want to name our kid [name]Avie[/name] but I feel that EE ending names are too youthful for full names, and we went through a little slew of making up names that shorten to [name]Avie[/name] or using obscure choices that have an AV in them, but …logically [name]Ava[/name] can nn to [name]Avie[/name] when she’s a kid, but have a full name we can both love and can agree on that she can have as an adult (my husband was not down for [name]Aviva[/name], [name]Avis[/name], Avonlea etc). He did like [name]Aviana[/name] but I prefer [name]Ava[/name]. I think we’re pretty much down to [name]Ava[/name] [name]Caroline[/name] but she will go exclusively by [name]Avie[/name]. I’ve always loved the name, the only downside for me is the popularity and people’s reactions.
I know one [name]Ava[/name], it does not feel overused to me. I love the beauty and simplicity to it. [name]Ella[/name]/[name]Ellie[/name] and all it’s variants are [name]WAY[/name] more popular around me…feeling leaps and bounds more overused than [name]Ava[/name]!
I live in the Southeast and I can identify half a dozen [name]Ava[/name]/[name]Eva[/name]'s without even thinking too hard-- reflection would probably bring a few more to mind. It’s very, very popular here. But so are the -ella names, which also don’t excite me much. I went to a little girl’s birthday party and just among the twenty or so guests there was a [name]Bella[/name], [name]Isabel[/name], [name]Stella[/name] and [name]Ella[/name], I kid you not.
[name]Ava[/name] is a lovely name. It’s also very popular. I will add my unsolicited opinion as someone who wears the third most popular name for girls in the decade of my birth… it’s tiring. Objectively I can see that my name is pretty and feminine, but that thrill is watered down when I run into other Melissas every.where.i.go.
Would I rather my mother had named me Irmingard? No. But something a leeetle bit further down the list would have cut down on that long internal sigh every time I hear, “My name is [name]Melissa[/name], too!” Yes. I know it is. Sigh.
Oh I hear you…I’m a [name]Jennifer[/name] which I think is WAAAAY worse than [name]Melissa[/name]. I have hated my name since I told my teachers not to call me [name]Jenny[/name] K in first grade!!! But it’s hard when you love a name. I want to chose something else, I really do but then I can’t really bring myself to chose a name I like less just because it’s less popular. This baby was [name]Arabella[/name] [name]Victoria[/name] for the longest time but really with all the [name]Isabella[/name]'s, [name]Bella[/name]'s, [name]Belle[/name]'s, [name]Annabelle[/name]'s, [name]Annabella[/name]'s, and [name]Isabelle[/name]'s running around my area I figured if she’s going to get lumped in and dated with a [name]Bella[/name] name I’d rather her have a name I love if I’m going the popular route. And my daughter is [name]Elliana[/name] nn [name]Ellie[/name] but strangely in my area I have never run into another [name]Ellie[/name] in the playground, gyms, preschools, bday parties etc. [name]Ella[/name]/[name]Bella[/name]/[name]Elle[/name]/[name]Belle[/name] yes definitely but no [name]Ellie[/name]'s as of yet but I know they’re out there. It’s weird. [name]Ava[/name] just speaks to me I guess…and a ton of other moms 
I have an [name]Ava[/name] [name]Dulcea[/name]. [name]LOVE[/name] [name]LOVE[/name] [name]LOVE[/name] her name still. I know of one other [name]Ava[/name] around her age ([name]Ava[/name] [name]Grace[/name]), and then there’s the [name]Ava[/name] I went to high school with that made me love the name way back when. I wasn’t crazy about the huge popularity, but then I got over myself and stats like those, things I have no control over. If you love it, use it. It seems like it would be a perfect fit for you. We call our daughter “[name]Ava[/name] [name]Baby[/name]” or “[name]Ava[/name] Lady” now that she’s getting a little older (I’m not a baby mama!) but [name]Avie[/name] is a cute idea for a nickname!
I love the name [name]Ava[/name]. Use it if you love it! It is popular, but it is popular with good reason, because it’s a beautiful name. It’s also a classic name and it will wear well throughout her life. Also, she will probably never have to spell it or correct anyone’s pronunciation of it.
I just thought too- if you are concerned about her being one of several in her class, what about a double name? [name]Ava[/name] for the first name, something less popular for the second? [name]Just[/name] don’t do [name]Ava[/name] [name]Rose[/name] or [name]Ava[/name] [name]Grace[/name], I think that all of the little [name]Ava[/name]'s we know are one or the other of those. Anyhow, then she would have the option of going by [name]Ava[/name] [name]Simone[/name] or [name]Ava[/name] [name]Katherine[/name] or whatever you love best, rather than being [name]Ava[/name] X or Freckled [name]Ava[/name] or similar.
I love [name]Ava[/name] personally, but I haven’t met a single one either, so for me it doesn’t seem THAT popular, even though it was the 5th name in my Province. [name]Ava[/name] is gorgeous, and feels timelessly beautiful to me, I have been liking it more and more lately!
I was wondering the same thing…
I have met only three [name]Ava[/name]'s were I live, and not all of them are infants so it’s not like boom, three [name]Ava[/name]'s in one year=trend. I really like the name, and think it’s a beautiful choice for a little girl.
I have noticed that if i mention more ‘popular’ names (like [name]Jacob[/name], [name]Isabella[/name], [name]Sarah[/name], etc.) to people in real life, they don’t freak out…rarely have i gotten a “oh my, but that’s so popular!!!” reaction from them. On naming sites, [name]Ava[/name] and similar names don’t get much love and their popularity is always pointed out. I think it may be because on naming sites, where people are constantly discussing all types of names (some never heard of by some people), and with such a huge tool at our disposal, that when someone chooses something simple like [name]Ava[/name]…there’s almost a “there’s so many other options though, why choose something that many people already used?” reaction.
[name]Ava[/name] is a beautiful name. You don’t have to stop loving something because it’s popular, but it is nice to be forewarned about its popularity…
[name]One[/name] of my [name]MAJOR[/name] turn offs with [name]Arabella[/name] was that people would say “Oh wow you can call her [name]Bella[/name], like Twilight” like it was a good thing. On about the 5th time of someone saying that I threw in the towel on that name and decided if she’s getting lumped in a popular name I’m just choosing the one I really love, instead of the one I love less but no one in my area has! My husband sees about 100 kids a day ages 8-adult in his practice and he only has 5 [name]Ava[/name]'s and 1 [name]Avie[/name] in his entire database from past to present, I didn’t tell him that theyre probably all about to pop up in about 3 years He’s very picky though and won’t go for the double barrell, I already tried that! I think if we call her [name]Avie[/name] exclusively she won’t encounter too many other [name]Avie[/name]'s. I just ordered her first monogrammed blanket with [name]Ava[/name] [name]Caroline[/name] on it from etsy so hopefully I can stay committed lol
Where I live Eva is a lot more popular. I actually have never met an Ava in my life and I don’t feel like it’s overused. I personally quite like it.