Avani
Sanskrit origin meaning "the earth" or "the motherland".
Name Census estimates that about 3,908 living Americans carry the first name Avani. It is a predominantly female name (98.8% of registrations). The average person named Avani today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Avani births was 2023 (331 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Avani. 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.
Key insights
- • Avani is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.9K
~ 1 in 87,706 Americans
Peak year
2023
331 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#997
Tracked since 1975
Gender
Gender distribution for Avani
Avani leans heavily female at 98.8% of total registrations, but 49 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Avani as a male name
- Ranked #9,982 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (8 births)
Avani as a female name
- Ranked #997 in 2024
- 258 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (326 births)
Popularity
Avani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Avani from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,482 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Avani 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 Avani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Avanis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 33 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Avani, while Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 78 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Avani
The name Avani is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Avani', which means 'earth' or 'Mother Earth'. This name has its roots in ancient Hindu culture and mythology. It is believed to have been in use since the Vedic period, which dates back to around 1500-500 BCE.
In Hindu scriptures, Avani is one of the names used to refer to the goddess Prithvi, the personification of the Earth. This name is often associated with fertility, nourishment, and the abundance of nature. The name Avani is also mentioned in various ancient Hindu texts, such as the Puranas and the Upanishads.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Avani is in the Mahabharata, a renowned Hindu epic from ancient India. In the epic, Avani is mentioned as the name of a sage who played a significant role in the events of the story.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Avani. One of the most famous was Avani Sundari Devi (1858-1924), a prominent Indian social reformer and activist who fought for women's rights and education in Bengal.
Another notable Avani was Avani Chaturvedi (born 1994), an Indian Air Force officer who became one of the first women fighter pilots in the Indian military in 2018.
Avani Lekhara (born 1997) is an Indian Paralympic athlete who won a gold medal in shooting at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, making her the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold medal.
Avani Rai (born 1994) is an Indian actress and model who has appeared in various Bollywood films and television shows.
AvaniBangia (born 1990) is an Indian-American author and entrepreneur known for her work in promoting diversity and inclusion in the publishing industry.
The name Avani continues to be popular in various parts of India and among the Indian diaspora around the world, carrying with it the rich cultural and mythological significance of its origins.
People
Avani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Avani 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
Avani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Avani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,908 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Avani 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 87,706 US residents.
Is Avani a common name?
We classify Avani as "Rare". It ranks above 95.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,954 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Avani most popular?
The single biggest year for Avani was 2023, when 331 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Avani is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Avani a female name?
Yes, 98.8% of people registered as Avani 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.
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.