Avonda
A feminine name possibly derived from the French word "avancer", suggesting advancement or progress.
Name Census estimates that about 79 living Americans carry the first name Avonda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Avonda today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Avonda births was 1957 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Avonda. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Avonda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
79
~ 1 in 4,338,663 Americans
Peak year
1957
8 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
1987 SSA rank
#11,474
Tracked since 1957
Popularity
Avonda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Avonda from the 1950s through to the 1980s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 49 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Avonda 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 Avonda 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 Avonda
The name Avonda originated in the early medieval period, with roots tracing back to the Germanic tribes of central Europe. It is believed to have been derived from the Old High German words "avo" meaning "ancestor" and "unda" meaning "wave" or "water." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to an ancestral connection with a body of water, such as a river or lake.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Avonda can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the former Kingdom of Saxony, dated to the 9th century. Here, the name appears as "Avonda" in reference to a landowner in the region.
In the 11th century, an Avonda is mentioned in the Annales Cambriae, a chronicle of medieval Welsh history. This Avonda is described as a noblewoman who played a role in the political affairs of the time, though few other details are provided.
During the 12th century, an Avonda is recorded as a nun in the Benedictine monastery of St. Walburga in Eichstätt, Bavaria. This Avonda is notable for her contributions to the monastery's illuminated manuscripts, which are still preserved today.
In the 14th century, an Italian scholar named Avonda Boccaccio (1320-1375) gained recognition for his writings on classical literature and philosophy. He was a contemporary of the renowned author Giovanni Boccaccio and is believed to have influenced his work.
Another notable figure was Avonda von Mecklenburg (1492-1555), a German noblewoman and patron of the arts. She commissioned several works of art and architecture, including the construction of a chapel on her family's estate, which still stands today.
Throughout history, the name Avonda has been relatively rare, but it has appeared in various parts of Europe, including Germany, Italy, and the British Isles. While its usage has waxed and waned over the centuries, it has maintained its connection to its Germanic roots and its association with water and ancestry.
People
Avonda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Avonda 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
Avonda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Avonda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 79 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Avonda 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 4,338,663 US residents.
Is Avonda a common name?
We classify Avonda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 94 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Avonda most popular?
The single biggest year for Avonda was 1957, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Avonda is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Avonda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Avonda 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.