Avery
Meaning of Avery
Avery began as an English surname, taken from an Old English personal name. Most name dictionaries trace it to Ælfric, formed from ælf (“elf”) and rīce (“power, rule”), and gloss it as “elf ruler”; some instead connect it with Alfred, “elf counsel,” and the two explanations are often blended, so the meaning is best given as elf ruler or elf counsel. In English it is pronounced AY-vree.
The best-known American bearers are the actor Avery Brooks, remembered as Captain Benjamin Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and the basketball player and coach Avery Johnson. The name is given to both boys and girls in the United States.
As a first name Avery was uncommon for most of the twentieth century: in 1990 it went to 250 babies and ranked 802nd. It then climbed sharply, reaching 89th in 2003 and a peak of 12th in 2013, when 9,185 babies received it. It has eased since, standing at 37th in 2025 with 5,267 babies.
Pronunciation
German
- Pronunced as AH-fay-ree (/'a.fə.ʁi/)
English
- Pronunced as AY-vree (/'eɪ.vri/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Avery
| Avery Bradley Jr. is a former NBA guard and two-time All-Defensive honoree, a 2010 Boston Celtics first round pick from Texas who now serves as the Utah Jazz vice president of player development. |
| Avery Brooks is a retired American actor, director, singer, and educator best known as Captain Benjamin Sisko in Star Trek Deep Space Nine and as Hawk in Spenser for Hire, acclaimed for American History X and honored with NAACP Image Award nominations. |
| Avery DeWitt Johnson is an American basketball TV commentator, former NBA player and coach, former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach, and a CBS Sports analyst for NBA and college basketball. |
| Avery Robert Dulles was an American Jesuit priest, theologian, and cardinal who taught at Woodstock College, the Catholic University of America, and Fordham University, and was a noted author and lecturer. |
| Avery Odelle Craven was an American historian of 19th century America, especially the Civil War and Reconstruction, known for a revisionist stance sympathetic to the Lost Cause and critical of democratic failings in his era. |
| Avery Williams - Avery A. Williams Sr. is an American former football player who played at Temple, signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent, and later competed in the CFL for the Ottawa Redblacks and Montreal Alouettes. |
| American artist Avery Singer creates digitally assisted paintings using 3D modeling software and computer controlled airbrushing. |
| Canadian tabletop roleplaying designer Avery Alder explores LGBTQ self discovery and community in post apocalyptic worlds, co created the Belonging Outside Belonging system, and has influenced game design and scholarship. |
| American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger James Avery Parrish wrote and recorded After Hours before injuries from a 1943 bar fight ended his piano career. |
| Avery Skinner - Avery A. Skinner is an American outside hitter for the US womens national volleyball team and Italian Serie A1 club Chieri. |
| Avery Blake Sr., an American lacrosse player and coach, was head lacrosse coach at Swarthmore College from 1931 to 1959, served as president of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association, was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1961, and was the father of fellow Hall of Famer Avery Blake Jr. |
| Avery Gilbert is known as a smell scientist and sensory psychologist. |
| Avery Skinner was an American politician from New York. |
| Avery Edwin Field was a commercial and portrait photographer in Riverside, California, noted for his extensive work with the Mission Inn. |
| Avery Garrett was a Washington state politician who served as Renton mayor from 1969 to 1976, in the state House from 1959 to 1969 and 1977 to 1985, and in the state Senate from 1985 to 1988. |
