Given name & surname
Avi
“The Lord is my father”
Avi is used as a given name and a surname. One Hebrew interpretation is “The Lord is my father.”
Original Hebrewאבי
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hebrew interpretation is “The Lord is my father.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
In English usage, Avi is a diminutive of אברהם.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1949. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Avi through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6,921
- 6,087 boys · 834 girls
- Most popular year
- 2022
- 425 babies
- 2025
- 313
- #832 for boys · #6,880 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +38%
- Rising
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 87% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 297 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 832 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 46.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 16 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (33). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,230 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.
Avi’s family of names
In English usage, Avi is a diminutive of אברהם. Avi has a related form in Avie. Avi has a related form in Avy.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Avi
- Avi AradIsraeli-American film producer (born 1948)
- Avi WigdersonIsraeli mathematician and computer scientistborn 1956
- Avi ShlaimIsraeli-British historian (born 1945)
- Avi NashAmerican actorborn 1991
- Avi DichterIsraeli politicianborn 1952
- Avi GabbayIsraeli businessman and politicianborn 1967
- Avi NimniIsraeli footballerborn 1972
- AstrixIsraeli psychedelic trance DJborn 1980
- Avi ToledanoIsraeli singer-songwriterborn 1948
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Avi, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Asa
“doctor, healer” · “born in the morning”
89% boys · 11% girls
Asaiah
“Yah has made”
97% boys · 3% girls
Adonai
“my foundation” · “my Lord”
88% boys · 12% girls
Amir
“a prince” · “from the treetop”
>99% boys
Zabdiel
“God has given” · “gift of God”
>99% boys
Asriel
“God has filled with joy”
>99% boys
Adriel
“from God's flock”
98% boys · 2% girls
Ozias
“power of Yah” · “Yah is strong”
>99% boys