Avent last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Avent is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Avent.

Meaning of Avent

Derived from the Middle English word "aventaile," referring to the movable front part of a helmet.

Avent, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Avent surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Avent in America

Avent is the 12541st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Avent surname appeared 2,470 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Avent.

We can also compare 2010 data for Avent to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 12541 12742 -1.59%
Count 2,470 2,223 10.53%
Proportion per 100k 0.84 0.82 2.41%

The history of the last name Avent

The surname Avent has its roots in the French language, originating in the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "avent," which means "coming" or "advent." This name was likely given to someone who was born or baptized during the Advent season, which is the four weeks leading up to Christmas.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Avent can be traced back to the region of Normandy in northern France. In the Domesday Book, a famous manuscript commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, there are several entries for individuals with the surname Avent or similar spellings, such as Avante and Avaunt.

During the Middle Ages, the name Avent was particularly prevalent in the counties of Calvados and Manche in Normandy. It is believed that the name may have been associated with certain localities or place names in these areas, although the exact origins remain unclear.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Avent was William Avent, who lived in the 13th century and was a landowner in the village of Longues-sur-Mer in Calvados. Another notable figure was Jeanne Avent, a noblewoman born in 1314 in the town of Avranches, Manche.

In the 16th century, the name Avent began to spread beyond the borders of Normandy, with records showing individuals bearing this surname in other parts of France, as well as in England and other European countries.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname Avent was Sir John Avent, an English military commander who fought in the Wars of the Roses during the 15th century. He was born in 1432 in Oxfordshire and died in 1491.

Another notable figure was Étienne Avent, a French explorer and cartographer who accompanied Jacques Cartier on his voyages to Canada in the 1530s. Étienne Avent was responsible for creating some of the earliest maps of the St. Lawrence River and surrounding areas.

In the 17th century, the Avent surname began to appear in colonial records from North America, as French settlers and English immigrants brought the name to the New World. One of the earliest recorded instances was Pierre Avent, a French colonist who settled in Quebec in 1643.

Throughout the centuries, the Avent surname has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including soldiers, artists, writers, and politicians. While the name has evolved and spread across different regions, its origins can be traced back to the Old French word "avent" and its association with the Advent season in medieval Normandy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Avent

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Avent.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Avent was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 38.18% 943
Non-Hispanic Black Only 54.45% 1,345
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.97% 24
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.24% 6
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.23% 55
Hispanic Origin 3.93% 97

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Avent has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 38.18% 41.88% -9.24%
Black 54.45% 54.52% -0.13%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.97% 0.49% 65.75%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.24% 0.27% -11.76%
Two or More Races 2.23% 1.12% 66.27%
Hispanic 3.93% 1.71% 78.72%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Avent was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Avent, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Avent last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/avent-surname-popularity/.

"Avent last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/avent-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Avent last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/avent-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.