Avice
An old French feminine name derived from the Germanic name Avize, itself from aviz meaning "noble born".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Avice. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Avice today is around 94 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Avice births was 1926 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Avice. 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
- • The typical person named Avice is about 94 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Avices were born before 1942.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Avice. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1926
13 babies that year
Average age
94
years old
1939 SSA rank
#4,301
Tracked since 1900
Popularity
Avice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Avice from the 1900s through to the 1930s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 84 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Avice remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Avice 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 Avice during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Avice
The name Avice originated from the Old French name Avice, which was a feminine form of the Latin name Avitus. The name Avitus was derived from the Latin word "avitus," meaning "ancestral" or "inherited." The name Avice was most prevalent in medieval England and France during the 12th to 15th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Avice can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of landholdings in England compiled in 1086 under the order of William the Conqueror. In the Domesday Book, Avice is listed as a landholder in several counties across England.
Avice was a relatively popular name among the English nobility during the Middle Ages. One notable example is Avice de Lancaster, who was born around 1135 and was the daughter of William de Lancaster, Lord of Kendal. She married William de Fortibus, Earl of Albemarle, and their descendants played a significant role in English history.
Another historical figure with the name Avice was Avice de Meschines, who was born around 1156 in Cheshire, England. She was the daughter of Ranulph de Meschines, Earl of Chester, and inherited considerable lands and wealth from her father.
In the 13th century, Avice de Toni was a wealthy English heiress who inherited the extensive lands of her father, Ralph de Toni. She was married to Henry de Tracy, and their descendants became influential in Somerset and Gloucestershire.
During the 14th century, Avice de Bohun was a member of the powerful Bohun family in England. She was born around 1320 and was the daughter of William de Bohun, Earl of Northampton. Avice de Bohun married Sir Walter Fitzwalter, and their son, Walter Fitzwalter, became a prominent military leader during the Hundred Years' War.
While the name Avice was primarily used in England and France during the Middle Ages, it has since become less common in modern times. However, its historical significance and connection to the nobility and landowning classes of medieval England and France make it a fascinating name with a rich cultural heritage.
People
Avice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Avice 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
Avice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Avice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Avice 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Avice a common name?
We classify Avice as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 184 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Avice most popular?
The single biggest year for Avice was 1926, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Avice is about 94 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Avice a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Avice 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.