Ave
Feminine · “Latin ave”
The Hail Mary is assembled from two verses of Luke and a petition added much later. The angel's greeting and Elizabeth's blessing were joined in the middle ages; the second half, asking for prayer at the hour of death, was only fixed in the catechism of 1566.
How old is the name Ave?
Ave first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Ave alive today was born around 2000, making them about 25 years old. About 800 people named Ave are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ave most popular?
Ave peaked in 1944, reaching #2511 nationally. Today it ranks #9457, 6,946 places below that high. See the whole 1944 chart.
Where it comes from
From avere to Ave
The story of Ave
The prayer came together in stages. The first half is scripture: Gabriel's greeting in Luke 1:28 and Elizabeth's words in Luke 1:42, joined together and in devotional use by the eleventh century. The name Jesus was added at the end of that section later. The second half, holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, appears in various forms from the fifteenth century and was standardized in the Roman Catechism of 1566 and the Breviary of 1568. So one of the most repeated sentences in human history is a composite text finalized in the sixteenth century, half of it quotation and half of it petition. The Latin ave that opens it is an ordinary Roman greeting, an imperative telling the person addressed to be well.
Meaning
Latin ave, hail
Ave is Latin for hail or greetings, the imperative of avere, to be well or to fare well. It is the opening word of the Ave Maria, the Hail Mary, and of the greeting attributed to gladiators. As an American given name it may also be a short form of Avis or Ava. The peak is 1944.
How the name formed
- avere
- ave
- Ave
Related forms: Ave · Ave
Pronouncing Ave
AH-vay
Two syllables, stress on the first. English speakers meeting it cold often say AYV, treating the final e as silent, which the Latin does not.
Nicknames for Ave
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1913
- Most girls named
- 200731 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2511reached in 1944
- Change vs 2023
- −28.6%10 in 2025, from 14
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ave in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ave in Latin — same name
- Ave in Estonian — same name
Aves among us
people named Ave are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 160,727 born in 2025 was named Ave
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Eldean test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Ave's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Eldean climbed just as high around 1921, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Eldean's path sketches the road Ave is walking now.
Ave sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Ave beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ave in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three letters and two syllables, as compact as a name gets.
- The Latin meaning is clear and warm.
- It is a standard name in Estonia.
- English readers will treat the final e as silent.
- It is closely tied to a Catholic prayer.
- Ava is far commoner and looks almost identical.
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What they receive
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Ave
Feminine · #9457 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Aves are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Ave are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ave in 2025?
- Ave ranks #9457 among US girl names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ave?
- About 1 in every 160,727 US girls born in 2025 was named Ave — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ave with classmates?
- Ave will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ave
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Leta#9457 · Inga#9457 · Delphia#9457 · Cammie#9457 · Lisandra#9457 · Amee#9457 · Venecia#9457 · Annetta#9457
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ave? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ave and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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