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In the past 5 years I have taught at least 8-10 little girls named Ava, and one Eva pronounced AY-va. I know there are plenty more running around the studio. I will never understand why the parents are always shocked to find out that there are other Ava's or siblings named Ava when they arrive. Trust me, in my area at least it is just as popular as it seems.

I like it. It is pretty, short, easy to spell and popular old fashioned.
I heard it pronounced AH-va once on that MTV show about Sweet 16 birthday parties. But the girl was Indian or Persian or something. If that is how it pronounced in your culture, you can pronounce it that way no matter where you live. Otherwise I think it constantly mispronounced in an English speaking country.

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I know of three - one is almost 3, one is about two and the other is 9 months.

This message was edited 10/10/2011, 4:47 PM

Ava is common, yet still undeniably lovely. Its spelling is part of the charm for me. I don't see the "AH-vuh" pronunciation working out well. It would be such a headache to live with.

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My stock combinations: Ava Laurentine ("-teen") and Magdalene Ava ("-len").

I've never actually met a reallife baby Ava. But I'd still rather put it in the middle name spot so she doesn't have a top three name (or whatever it is), but that's just me and my popularity issues. :)

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Sure you could pronounce it AH-va, as long as you (and your daughter) don't mind correcting every single person you ever meet. :)

I dislike this name. I like the spelling Eva a little better because of its connection to Eve (which is a name I love), but I don't like Ava at all. It seems too light, too floaty, a name without weight...er, if that makes any sense. I don't like how awfully popular and trendy it is, but that's rather shallow, haha.

I like Ava. I still prefer Eva, but Ava is pretty. I work in the education field, and I have met two Avas over the last year- both around age 2. They both pronounced it "AY-va" and I have never heard of anyone pronouncing it "AH-va," so I think it would be difficult to get away with, considering it's a pretty popular name.

I think it's too common. :( I don't think you could get away with the ah-va pronunciation since it is so widely known now as ay-va. If you spelled it differently you could pronounce it the way you want to, but I'm not sure you could do that with the name still looking pretty. (Ahva, Auva, Auvah...)
There are lots of little girls (mostly 3 year olds) at my dance studio that are named Ava. It's definately better as a middle name!

II quite like it but I think Eva is much nicer. I've only ever seen it said AY-va but I think AH-va is totally useable as well.

I like it because it makes me think of the great Ava Gardner. I suppose in America it's pronounced AY-va because that's how Eva is pronounced in Spanish (I'm assuming Eva Longoria made it popular, but of course I might be wrong!).
But AH-va is surely actually nearer to the pronunciation of the name's Hebrew source - Chava. So nothing wrong with that!

In the U.S., I think AH-va would be difficult, given the overwhelming popularity of the AY-va pronunciation. As a mn, however, I don't think it would be a big deal.

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It's hard for me to say how many Avas I've met because I don't know any of them very well. Between my son's daycare, my work, and our church, there are probably about 10 little Avas in my circle of acquaintance.

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I really like Ava quite a bit, and I'm not bothered by its popularity. I wouldn't use it just because there are so many similar names I love more, like Eva, Aviva, and Maeve.

I like it. I think it is really pretty. I've only ever heard it pronounced AY-va and I think that is the prettier pronounciation. I only know one little toddler named Ava.

Personally I don't care for the name Ava AT ALL. Generally speaking it looks pretty but it's sooooooooooooo popular. I don't care for the pronunciation AH-va either. It doesn't sound like an actual name to me when pronounced that way. I'm sorry!