Avaline
Of French origin, meaning beautiful bird.
Name Census estimates that about 334 living Americans carry the first name Avaline. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Avaline today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Avaline births was 2016 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Avaline. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Avaline with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
334
~ 1 in 1,026,211 Americans
Peak year
2016
48 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,398
Tracked since 1920
Census
Avaline in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 310 people with the first name Avaline, which placed it at #28,807 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#28,807
National first-name rank
People counted
310
310 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Avaline
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Avaline is White at 65.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.2%) and Two or More Races (8.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Avaline described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Avaline at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.5% · 203
- Hispanic or Latino13.2% · 41
- Two or more races8.4% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.4% · 23
- Black or African American4.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Popularity
Avaline: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Avaline from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 221 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Avaline remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Avaline by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Avaline during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Avalines live
Origin
Meaning and history of Avaline
The name Avaline has its origins in the French language, with roots tracing back to the medieval period. It is a combination of the Germanic elements "av" meaning "power" or "strength" and "lina" derived from the Germanic name Lina, meaning "tender" or "soft." This juxtaposition of strength and tenderness reflects the multifaceted nature of the name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Avaline can be found in a 12th-century French manuscript, where it was used to refer to a noblewoman from the region of Burgundy. The name gained popularity among the French aristocracy during the Middle Ages and was often bestowed upon daughters of noble families.
In the 14th century, a prominent figure named Avaline de Montfort (1310-1384) played a significant role in the Hundred Years' War between England and France. She was renowned for her bravery and leadership skills, serving as a military strategist and advisor to the French king.
The name Avaline also appears in the writings of the 16th-century French poet Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585), who dedicated several sonnets to a woman bearing this name, likely a member of the French court or a patron of the arts.
In the 17th century, Avaline de Laval (1625-1698) was a renowned French botanist and horticulturist. She is credited with introducing several exotic plant species to Europe and establishing one of the first botanical gardens in France.
Another notable figure was Avaline Durand (1792-1868), a French philanthropist and social reformer who dedicated her life to improving the living conditions of the poor and advocating for women's education.
During the 19th century, the name gained popularity in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United States and Canada, where it was adopted by families of French descent or those with an appreciation for its unique and melodic sound.
While the name Avaline is not as common today as it once was, it still holds a special place in the rich tapestry of French culture and history, representing a blend of strength, tenderness, and a connection to the past.
People
Avaline + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Avaline as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Avaline: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Avaline?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 334 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Avaline going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,026,211 US residents.
Is Avaline a common name?
We classify Avaline as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 351 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Avaline most popular?
The single biggest year for Avaline was 2016, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Avaline is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Avaline in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 310 people with the name Avaline, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,807 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Avaline in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Avaline?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Avaline appears almost entirely female. Of the 307 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Avaline?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Avaline is White at 65.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.2%) and Two or More Races (8.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Avaline most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Avaline in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.5% (203 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Avaline in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Avaline a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Avaline in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Avaline still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Avaline in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Avaline can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Avaline?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.