Given name
Averil
“to open”
Averil is a variant of April. The immediate reference is the month of April. A traditional explanation links the Latin name with “to open,” evoking opening buds and flowers; that proposed root should not be mistaken for an unquestioned literal translation.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Averil is a variant of April. The immediate reference is the month of April. A traditional explanation links the Latin name with “to open,” evoking opening buds and flowers; that proposed root should not be mistaken for an unquestioned literal translation.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Averil is a variant of Averill. An origin associated with Averill is Old English. Averil is a variant of April. April is an English month name used as a given name. The month’s Latin name is aprilis.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English use, Averil is used as a variant of Avril. Averil is a variant of April. The shared background comes through April: Latin aprilis may derive from aperīre, “to open.” An additional suggestion is that given-name April was originally intended as an English counterpart to Avril, though that naming route is also uncertain.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1895. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Averil is a variant of Averill. The history of Averill gives this family its wider story. Averill’s naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name. Averil is a variant of April. The history of April gives this family its wider story. April belongs to a small group of English given names taken from spring months, alongside May and June. The seasonal connection supplies its associations with new growth without requiring a separate mythological or family-name origin.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Averil through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 446
- 43 boys · 403 girls
- Most popular year
- 1915
- 20 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 6 in 2014. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 20 in 1915. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 531 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Averil’s family of names
Averil has a related form in April. Averil has a related form in Avril. In English usage, Averil has a related form in Averill.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Averil
- Averil CameronEnglish historian of late antiquity (1940–2026)
- Averil LysaghtNew Zealand biologist, science historian, and illustrator (1905-1981)
- Averil Maud BottomleySouth African mycologist (1889-1984)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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