Given name & surname
Avril
“to open”
Avril 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
Avril 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
An origin associated with this spelling is Old English.
How it developed
Avril 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.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1919. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Avril 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
Avril through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,484
- 5 boys · 3,479 girls
- Most popular year
- 2008
- 155 babies
- 2025
- 108
- #1,845 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −7%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 108 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,845 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 7.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 155 in 2008. In 2025, Florida had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (20). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,516 as a first name in 2020; 584 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Avril’s family of names
Avril has a related form in April. Avril has a related form in Averil. In English usage, Avril has a related form in Averill.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Around the world
Avril has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Old English roots to each of them.
8 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Avril
- Avril LavigneCanadian singer-songwriter (born 1984)
- Kim Campbell19th Prime Minister of Canada in 1993born 1947
- Avril Haines7th Director of National Intelligenceborn 1969
- Avril DoyleIrish politicianborn 1949
- Avril ElgarEnglish actress (1932–2021)
- Avril Coleridge-TaylorBritish musician1903–1998
- Avril Lovelace-JohnsonGhanaian jurist
- Avril MalleyBritish judokaborn 1957
- Avril AngersEnglish comedian and actress (1918-2005)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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