Avery's a last-name-first-name being used increasingly for girls -- perhaps because of Avery's similarity to Ava and Ivory. It's still well-used for boys and is one of today's most popular unisex names. About 1800 baby boys were named Avery in 2021, compared with nearly 7000 baby girls.

Avery 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. While Avery is considered by many to be a surname name, it was a given name first. It was used as a patronymic surname when England began to require last names.