Avenir
A French name meaning "future" or "what is to come".
Name Census estimates that about 422 living Americans carry the first name Avenir. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Avenir today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Avenir births was 2013 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Avenir. 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.
People living today
422
~ 1 in 812,214 Americans
Peak year
2013
36 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,888
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Avenir: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Avenir from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 239 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Avenir remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Avenir 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 Avenir during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Avenirs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Washington, California, Oregon recorded the most babies named Avenir, while Oregon, California, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Avenir
The name Avenir has its origins in the French language and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the French word "avenir," which means "future" or "what is to come." The name's earliest recorded use dates back to the 13th century in France.
In medieval France, the name Avenir may have been given to a child as a symbolic representation of hope for the future or as an expression of optimism and aspiration. It was not an uncommon practice during that time to choose names that conveyed positive qualities or virtues.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Avenir was Avenir de Mauléon, a French nobleman who lived in the 13th century. He was a prominent figure in the court of King Louis IX (Saint Louis) and participated in the Seventh Crusade to the Holy Land.
Another notable individual with the name Avenir was Avenir de Valence, a French poet and troubadour who lived in the 14th century. He is known for his contributions to the literary traditions of Occitan poetry and for his poems celebrating courtly love.
In the 16th century, Avenir Obrecht was a renowned French composer and musician who served as the choirmaster at the Strasbourg Cathedral. His compositions, including masses and motets, were widely performed and influential during the Renaissance period.
During the French Revolution in the late 18th century, Avenir Aubert was a revolutionary and politician who served as a deputy in the National Convention. He was known for his support of the radical Jacobin faction and for his role in the execution of King Louis XVI.
In the 19th century, Avenir Delacroix was a prominent French painter and lithographer who was part of the Romantic movement. He is best known for his landscape paintings and for his contributions to the development of lithography as an artistic medium.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Avenir, showcasing its enduring presence across different eras and cultural contexts.
People
Avenir + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Avenir 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
Avenir: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Avenir?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 422 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Avenir 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 812,214 US residents.
Is Avenir a common name?
We classify Avenir as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 425 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Avenir most popular?
The single biggest year for Avenir was 2013, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Avenir is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Avenir in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Avenir a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Avenir in the SSA data are male. 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 Avenir still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Avenir 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 Avenir 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Avenir?
You can see how many people share the name Avenir on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.