Ava is one of the biggest recent baby name success stories, jumping from almost the bottom of the Top 1000 twenty years ago to #4 last year–and it could be heading for #1. I’m certainly hearing it everywhere I go, in the street and in the supermarket, and seeing it on popularity lists worldwide. This brings to mind two questions: A) What can you substitute if you like Ava but don’t want such a trendy name? and B) Is Ava the name that will knock Emily out of top place or will it be one of the other leading contenders?

Here are a few ideas if you’re looking for an answer to A:

AVALON. Deriving from the Celtic word for apple, this is a very romantic place name–it was an island paradise in Celtic and Arthurian legend where it was a beautiful island renowned for its luscious apples, the place where King Arthur’s sword Excalibur was forged. In the present day, it’s the main city on the California island of Catalina.
Starbaby namesake? Daughter of 24 and Heroes actress Rena Sofer.

AVERY. If you’re looking for an alternative with a unisex-surname spin, this is it. The only problem is that Avery is pursuing Ava up the popularity list–and also, if you care about literal meanings, ‘Elf ruler’ doesn’t have much revelance in the modern world.
Starbaby namesake? Daughter of Angie Harmon & Jason Sehorn. NEWS FLASH: Amy Locane just had a daughter she named Avery Hope.

AVIS. A vintage birdlike name which, like cousin Mavis, was once more popular in England; here the dated ’s’ ending (as in Doris and Phyllis) and the rental-car connection lessened its chances. But now it’s old-time, funky feel gives it some degree of nostalgic charm.
Starbaby namesake? Daughter of Baldwin brother Daniel.

EVA. Several glamorous Evas–Longoria, Mendes, Green–have given Eva a popularity boost. But bear in mind that in several cultures Eva is pronounced Ava, so though it may not look as trendy, the sound’s the same.
Starbaby namesake? Dixie Chick Martie Maguire’s twin daughter.

ADA. Sounding as fusty as Ava did ten years ago, Ada is in line for a possible piggyback revival. Trivia tidbit: Ava Lovelace, daughter of the poet Byron, is considered to have been the very first “computer programmer,” 19th century style.
Starbaby namesake? Not yet.

NOW TO QUESTION B–Do you think it will be Ava or some other name that will be the first to knock Emily out of top place?

Linda wrote last week on the question of whether a name’s meaning still means anything.  Maybe not so much, and yet several of today’s most stylish names mean “life”.  Eve and Eva, Aisha and Zoe, Liv and all forms of Vivian share the life-affirming meaning.

Even if parents aren’t searching for a name with a specific meaning, the fact that an attractive name carries an equally attractive meaning can only be a plus.  Beautiful, strong, graceful, intelligent, star: These are all great meanings that may support the appeal of a name.  But life may be the most powerful meaning of all.

If you like the life-affirming meaning and want a name a little further off the beaten track, here’s a short list of other options:

Avita

Beatha

Selig

Vita

Viva

Viveca

Vivia

Zenobia

Ziv

Zoltan

Blame Ava.  Stylish but obscure when Reese Witherspoon picked it for her daughter less than a decade ago, it’s rocketed up the popularity list, with sound-alike Eva following close behind.  It’s become so popular, in fact, that our brand-new version of our original baby name style guide Beyond Jennifer & Jason, slated to come out next spring, will be titled Beyond Ava & Aiden.

Parents enchanted with Ava but looking for a fresh twist have discovered Ada.  If you check out the popularity chart on Ada’s name page, you’ll see that a very sleepy name is now heading straight upward.

But Ada is still only number 646 on the Social Security list, with just 452 baby girls in all of the United States getting the name in 2007 — an average of nine girls per state.  Hardly the kind of name where you risk running into another little Ada in every nursery school class.

And yet Ada is heading nowhere but up, and there’s every chance that over the next decade it will join Ava on the Top Ten.  Ava itself was, after all, in the 600s ten years ago, and has risen all the way to number 4. Eva is number 117, with Ava and Eva together given to more babies in 2007 than the number 1 Emily.

Names often follow each other up the popularity list, with a more unusual version of a name chasing the more popular one….and sometimes catching up.  Such is the case with Emma, now number 3 to Emily’s number one.  Or Addison, at number 11 closing in on number 5 Madison.  There are boys’ examples too: Christian and Christopher; Jack and Jackson.

Ada’s rise will also be, well, aided by its similarity to the popular Jada, and by worthy Ada namesake Ada Lovelace, only daughter of Lord Byron widely acknowledged to be the first “computer programmer,” albeit on a nineteenth century model.  And all names that start with A seem to be trending upward.

The lesson: If you choose Ada now, all your friends may admire your originality and daring.  But in five years, you’ll be working hard to convince everyone that you thought of it first.