Avital
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "father of dew".
Name Census estimates that about 884 living Americans carry the first name Avital. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Avital today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Avital births was 2008 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Avital. 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 Avital with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
884
~ 1 in 387,731 Americans
Peak year
2008
34 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,996
Tracked since 1970
Census
Avital in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 856 people with the first name Avital, which placed it at #13,929 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
#13,929
National first-name rank
People counted
856
856 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
91.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Avital
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Avital is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Avital 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 Avital at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 782
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 25
- Two or more races2.8% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 17
- Black or African American0.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Avital: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Avital 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 232 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Avital remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Avital 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 Avital during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Avitals live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, California, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Avital, while New Jersey, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 119 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Avital
The name Avital is a Hebrew name of uncertain origin, but it is believed to have derived from the Hebrew word "av," meaning "father," and the suffix "-tal," which means "dew." Thus, the name Avital can be interpreted as "father's dew" or "dew of the father."
The name Avital has been in use since ancient times in the Jewish community, and it is mentioned in the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. In the Talmud, Avital is referred to as a place name, suggesting that the name may have originally been a geographical term before becoming a personal name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Avital is found in the 12th century, when a Jewish scholar and philosopher named Avital ben Yosef lived in Provence, France. Avital ben Yosef was a prominent figure in the field of Jewish philosophy and is known for his commentaries on the works of Maimonides.
In the 13th century, another notable figure named Avital lived in Spain. Avital ben Isaac was a renowned rabbi and scholar who wrote extensively on Jewish law and philosophy. His works are still studied and revered in Jewish communities today.
Fast forward to the 20th century, and one of the most famous individuals with the name Avital was Avital Shcharansky, an Israeli human rights activist. Born in 1958, Avital Shcharansky played a crucial role in advocating for the release of her husband, Natan Sharansky, from Soviet imprisonment. Her efforts drew international attention and contributed to the eventual release of Natan Sharansky in 1986.
Another noteworthy individual with the name Avital is Avital Ronell, an American professor of German, comparative literature, and English. Born in 1952, Ronell is known for her work in continental philosophy, literary studies, and feminist theory. She has written extensively on topics such as deconstruction, psychoanalysis, and ethics.
Lastly, Avital Raz is an Israeli singer and songwriter who has gained prominence in the Israeli music scene. Born in 1983, Raz is known for her unique blend of traditional Middle Eastern and modern Western influences in her music. Her albums have been well-received and have garnered critical acclaim.
While the name Avital has its roots in ancient Hebrew, it has transcended its linguistic and cultural boundaries to become a name recognized and embraced across various communities worldwide.
People
Avital + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Avital 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
Avital: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Avital?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 884 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Avital 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 387,731 US residents.
Is Avital a common name?
We classify Avital as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 906 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Avital most popular?
The single biggest year for Avital was 2008, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Avital is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Avital in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 856 people with the name Avital, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,929 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 Avital 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 Avital?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Avital leans strongly female. 825 people counted with this name were female (96.7%), compared with 28 male bearers (3.3%). 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 Avital?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Avital is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Avital most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Avital in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (782 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 Avital in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Avital a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Avital 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 Avital still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Avital 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 Avital 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 share the name Avital?
Find out how many people share the name Avital on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.