Avid
Meaning "greedy" or "enthusiastic", derived from the Latin word "avidus".
Name Census estimates that about 218 living Americans carry the first name Avid. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Avid today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Avid births was 1982 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Avid. 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
218
~ 1 in 1,572,268 Americans
Peak year
1982
16 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2019 SSA rank
#12,333
Tracked since 1967
Census
Avid in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 150 people with the first name Avid, which placed it at #45,340 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
#45,340
National first-name rank
People counted
150
150 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Avid
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Avid is White at 44.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.7%). 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 Avid 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 Avid at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.0% · 66
- Hispanic or Latino30.0% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.7% · 16
- Black or African American8.7% · 13
- Two or more races5.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 2
Popularity
Avid: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Avid from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 121 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Avid 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 Avid 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 Avid
The name Avid is derived from the Latin word "avidus," meaning eager, greedy, or desirous. It is believed to have originated during the Roman era, as a nickname or descriptive term applied to individuals who displayed an intense passion or enthusiasm for a particular pursuit or activity.
In ancient Roman literature, the word "avidus" appears in various texts, including the works of Cicero, Ovid, and Pliny the Elder. It was often used to describe someone's insatiable appetite or fervent desire for knowledge, power, or material possessions.
The earliest recorded use of Avid as a given name dates back to the 12th century, when it was occasionally bestowed upon children born into noble families or those with a reputation for intellectual curiosity or ardent pursuits.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Avid was Avid de Monfort, a French nobleman and crusader who lived in the late 12th century. He participated in the Third Crusade and is mentioned in several chronicles of the time for his bravery and unwavering dedication to the cause.
Another notable figure was Avid of Pavia, an Italian scholar and philosopher who lived in the 13th century. He was renowned for his avid pursuit of knowledge and his contributions to the field of logic and metaphysics.
In the 15th century, Avid Brut was a prominent English historian and chronicler, best known for his work "The Chronicles of England," which provided a detailed account of the history of England from its earliest days to the reign of King Edward III.
During the Renaissance period, Avid Fontana was an Italian architect and engineer who lived in the 16th century. He was celebrated for his avid interest in the study of classical architecture and his innovative designs, many of which can still be seen in Rome and other Italian cities.
In the realm of literature, Avid Dryden was a renowned English poet, literary critic, and playwright of the 17th century. He was known for his avid defense of classical literary principles and his translations of works by Virgil, Ovid, and Homer, which helped to popularize these ancient texts among English readers.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Avid, each of whom embodied the spirit of passion, enthusiasm, and dedication that the name represents.
People
Avid + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Avid 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
Avid: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Avid?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 218 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Avid 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 1,572,268 US residents.
Is Avid a common name?
We classify Avid as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 232 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Avid most popular?
The single biggest year for Avid was 1982, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Avid is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Avid in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 150 people with the name Avid, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,340 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 Avid 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 Avid?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Avid on both sides of the split. Of the 150 people counted with this name, 108 were male (72.0%) and 42 were female (28.0%). 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 Avid?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Avid is White at 44.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.7%). 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 Avid most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Avid in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.0% (66 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 Avid in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Avid a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Avid 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 Avid still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Avid 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 Avid 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 have Avid as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.