My other half (nickname for my bff) has this name! I'm trying to learn Swedish since she's Swedish (hence this is a Swedish name lol) anyways, I think this name is gorgeous! It's very ethereal. Saw one commenter referring to "ava" to a different variant which I slightly disagreed with and disagree with. "Alva" is a Swedish name, so, I think English names shouldn't be brought into this, also, "Alva"s pronunciation is very much different from "Ava's. At least to me. Anyways, it's a gorg name! Nicknames for it: - al - va - alve.
Alva is the heroine and one of the protagonists (alongside Trolle) in the Norwegian-language children's book 'Trolle og den magiske fela' by the Belarusian - Norwegian singer Alexander Rybak.
Alva Belmont (1853-1933) born Alva Erskine Smith and known as Alva Vanderbilt from 1875 to 1896 during her marriage to William Vanderbilt. Alva played a major role in the fight for women's legal right to vote in the US.
This is Thomas Edison's middle name, isn't it? It sounds more feminine to me, even though in the US it was more common for males. I guess it can fit either gender. I wish this name would make a comeback so it can provide a break from the horribly trendy name Ava!
Correction to two comments here: The Swedish word for fairy is älva (pronounced EL-vuh), not Alva. Ä and A are different letters with different pronunciation. Alva is pronounced ULL-vuh in Swedish and Norwegian.
https://www.beliebte-vornamen.de/17193-alva.htm
https://www.behindthename.com/name/alva-1/top/germany-berlin
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alva_(Vorname)