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Avery

English
"ruler of the elves"
Clare Green
By Clare Green
Updated Mon Jul 14 2025

Avery Origin and Meaning

The name Avery is a girl's name of English origin meaning "ruler of the elves".

Avery is a hugely popular name in the US, especially for girls. But while nearly four times as many girls as boys are named Avery today Avery's popularity is starting to soften for girls while it continues to strengthen for boys.

Unlike many gender-neutral surname-y names popular today, Avery began life as a first name and later became a patronymic last name. It originated in the Middle Ages as a Norman-French pronunciation variation of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and the Ancient Germanic name Alberich. The elements aelf, meaning "elf" and ric, meaning "ruler" give Avery its meaning.

Angie Harmon and Jason Sehorn may have started it all when they chose it for their daughter in 2005, just as they did with daughters Finley and Emery. Amy Locane used the name in 2009 and now Dr. Phil has a granddaughter named Avery.

On 30 Rock, Elizabeth Banks had an extended cameo playing Alec Baldwin's glamorous fiancée, Avery Jessup.

# 31 in the US

Avery Rank in US Top 1000

# 18 on Nameberry

Avery Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Avery

20 Names Similar to Avery

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Avery.

Famous People Named Avery

  • Avery (born Anna Marie Iannitelli)
    American pop singer
  • Avery Laurel Hanson
    sister of the musical Hanson brothers
  • Troian Avery Bellisario
    American actress
  • Avery Singer (b. 1995)
    daughter of reality TV's Ramona Singer ("The Real Housewives of New York")
  • Avery Resnikoff
    daughter of Meg Resnikoff, co,founder of YouTube channel "whatsupmoms"
  • Avery Grace Sehorn (b. 2005)
    daughter of actors Jason Sehorn and Angie Harmon
  • Avery Hope Bovenizer (b. 2009)
    daughter of actress Amy Locane
  • Avery Elizabeth McGraw (b. 2010)
    daughter of Jay Phillip McGraw and Erica Dahm; granddaughter of Dr. Phil McGraw
  • Avery Julie Sansone (b. 2012)
    daughter of news anchor Julie Banderas
  • Avery Suter
    daughter of ice hockey player Ryan Suter
  • Avery Hutchinson
    daughter of ice hockey player Andrew Hutchinson
  • Avery Sherman (b. 2016)
    daughter of NFL player Richard Sherman
  • Avery Chen (b. 2016)
    daughter of actors Andie Chen and Kate Pang
  • Grace Avery Costner (b. 2010)
    daughter of actor Kevin Costner
  • Avrey Ovard
    Youtuber

The name Avery in Pop Culture

  • Avery Jessup
    character on TV's "30 Rock"
  • Avery Jennings
    character on TV's "Dog with a Blog"
  • Avery Bailey Clark
    character on American soap "The Young and the Restless"
  • Avery Corinthos
    character on American soap "General Hospital"
  • Avery Brown
    Murphy's mother on TV's "Murphy Brown"
  • Avery Bishop
    character in film "Jerry Maguire"
  • Avery Schultz
    character on TV's "The Mentalist"
  • Avery Ryan
    character on TV's "CSI:Cyber" played by Patricia Arquette
  • Avery
    character in the game "Hustle Cat"
  • Avery Whitbourne
    character in film "Bring It On: Fight to the Finish"
  • Avery Fuller
    character from Katherine McGee's book series "The Thousandth Floor"
  • Avery Grambs
    character in bestselling Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • Fitzroy Avery Vacker
    Main Character in Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

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