Avery · Daily fortune

Avery is a unisex English name that began as a surname. Behind the Name derives the surname from the Norman French form of the given names Alberich or Alfred; Wikipedia leads with Alfred, tracing Avery to the Old English name Ælfred, which it renders as "elf-counsel", and treats Alberich (which would make Avery a relative of Aubrey) as an alternative theory. As a first name it was traditionally masculine. Behind the Name notes that it was used on the sitcom Murphy Brown (1988–1998) for both the mother and the son of the main character, and that by 1998 it was more popular for girls in the United States, perhaps helped by a character in Jerry Maguire (1996). In 2025 it ranked #37 for girls and #291 for boys.

Both sources agree that Avery is a surname-turned-given-name whose root is an older personal name that passed through Norman French. They differ on emphasis. Behind the Name gives: "From an English surname that was itself derived from the Norman French form of the given names Alberich or Alfred." Wikipedia says the name is "ultimately derived from the Old English name Ælfred" and "literally translates to 'elf-counsel'", and adds an alternative theory that it derives from the Germanic name Alberich, which would make it related to Aubrey. Because the surname could descend from either name, and the two candidate names themselves differ (Alfred is Old English, Alberich is Continental Germanic), the confidence here is recorded as "likely" rather than "established": the Norman-French-surname stage is not in doubt, but which given name sits beneath it is.

Avery's history as a given name is short compared with its history as a surname. The surname arose in England from the Norman French form of an older personal name (Alfred or Alberich). As a first name it was, per Wikipedia, traditionally masculine, and the male bearers in that article, such as Olympic Committee president Avery Brundage (1887–1975) and actor Avery Brooks (born 1948), reflect that older pattern. Behind the Name records the turning point: the name was used on the American sitcom Murphy Brown (1988–1998) for both the mother and the son of the main character, and by 1998 it was more popular as a girls' name in the United States, perhaps further inspired by a character in the film Jerry Maguire (1996). Wikipedia dates the same shift to the late 20th century, and cites a Pennsylvania study that found more girls than boys named Avery in every year studied between 1990 and 2010. By 2021 Wikipedia gives US ranks of #19 for girls and #221 for boys, with Canada showing a similar split (#33 girls, #159 boys) while England and Wales stayed close to balanced (#355 girls, #433 boys). The 2025 SSA figures (#37 girls, #291 boys) continue the North American pattern.

In the United States in 2025, Avery ranked #37 among girls' names and #291 among boys' names (Social Security Administration). The girls' lead is long-standing: Behind the Name says the name was already more popular for girls by 1998, and Wikipedia gives 2021 ranks of #19 for girls and #221 for boys. Wikipedia also reports that in England and Wales the name is used much more evenly (2021: #355 girls, #433 boys), so the strong feminine tilt is a North American pattern rather than a universal one.

Behind the Name gives two English pronunciations, three-syllable /ˈeɪ.və.ɹi/ (AY-və-ree) and two-syllable /ˈeɪv.ɹi/ (AYV-ree), both stressed on the first syllable. Behind the Name lists no forms in other languages for Avery, so this section has a single entry; the related names Alfred, Alberich and Aubrey have their own foreign forms, but those belong to their profiles, not this one.

Avery sits in the surname-name group that American parents have favoured for a generation: soft, two or three syllables, ending in a light -ee sound, and free of any single strong association. Its documented gender history is the thing to think about. In the United States it now reads mainly as a girls' name, roughly eight times more common for girls than for boys in 2025, while British usage is nearly even, so the name will land differently depending on where a child grows up. For a boy it pairs with other revived surname classics; for a girl it belongs with the airy, vowel-led names of the 2010s and 2020s.

The bearers below are those named in the Wikipedia article for the given name; the two fictional uses come from Behind the Name. Together they show the name's move from male to female use.

Names that share Avery's surname-name style, its Norman and Old English roots, or its light, vowel-first sound. This list is editorial.