Fun Facts About the Name Avalon
- More than 4 thousand babies named Avalon: U.S. records list 4,281 babies given the name Avalon from 1880 through 2025. Even 69 boys received the name Avalon - about 1 boy for every 61 girls.
What Does the Name Avalon Mean?
Avalon is best known as the name of the otherworldly island in Arthurian legend, and it is generally interpreted as "isle of apples." The name comes out of the Welsh and Brittonic tradition, where the island is called Ynys Afallon - from ynys, "island," plus a form related to afal, the Welsh word for "apple." Latin writers rendered the name as Insula Avallonis, and one Latin account gives the alternate name Insula Pomorum, literally "isle of apples," which points to the same sense.
Some explanations trace the second element not directly to the fruit word but to a personal name, Afallach (also written Afallon), so that Ynys Afallach would mean "Afallach's island." The two explanations are not entirely separate, since that personal name may itself have carried an apple association. The apple reading is the customary one, but the precise derivation is not settled.
Avalon Name History & Origins
Avalon belongs to the Matter of Britain. Welsh tradition preserved the memory of an otherworldly island called Ynys Afallon or Ynys Afallach, associated with healing and with Arthur. In the 12th century, the Latin chronicle of Geoffrey of Monmouth, the Historia Regum Britanniae, tells how Arthur was carried to the Insula Avallonis after his last battle to be healed of his wounds. In his later poem Vita Merlini, Geoffrey describes the same place as Insula Pomorum, the Isle of Apples.
Later Arthurian romances developed the island further. It remained the place where Arthur is taken after the Battle of Camlann and where, in many versions of the story, he waits or lies buried. In 1191 the monks of Glastonbury Abbey announced the discovery of the graves of Arthur and Guinevere, and the abbey was promoted as the site of Avalon, linking the legendary island to a real English location.
In the 19th century, Alfred, Lord Tennyson used the spelling Avilion for the island in Idylls of the King. Avalon has also been adopted as a given name in the English-speaking world, most often for girls, and it appears as a place name in several countries besides.
How Popular is the Name Avalon?
Avalon has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2014. Its best rank was #1,169 in 1921.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,459 | 147 | 0.0091% |
| 2024 | #1,602 | 130 | 0.0081% |
| 2023 | #1,782 | 114 | 0.0071% |
| 2022 | #1,600 | 132 | 0.0081% |
| 2021 | #1,667 | 125 | 0.0076% |
| 2020 | #1,654 | 124 | 0.0077% |
| 2019 | #1,597 | 133 | 0.0079% |
| 2018 | #1,728 | 119 | 0.0070% |
| 2017 | #1,643 | 131 | 0.0076% |
| 2016 | #1,484 | 154 | 0.0087% |
| 2015 | #1,505 | 151 | 0.0085% |
| 2014 | #1,435 | 158 | 0.0088% |
| 2013 | #1,578 | 136 | 0.0078% |
| 2012 | #1,905 | 105 | 0.0060% |
| 2011 | #1,730 | 119 | 0.0068% |
| 2010 | #1,676 | 126 | 0.0071% |
| 2009 | #1,546 | 146 | 0.0079% |
| 2008 | #1,686 | 132 | 0.0070% |
| 2007 | #1,681 | 131 | 0.0068% |
| 2006 | #1,591 | 135 | 0.0071% |
| 2005 | #1,951 | 98 | 0.0053% |
| 2004 | #1,813 | 105 | 0.0057% |
| 2003 | #1,887 | 97 | 0.0053% |
| 2002 | #1,869 | 95 | 0.0053% |
| 2001 | #2,048 | 82 | 0.0046% |
| 2000 | #2,407 | 64 | 0.0035% |
| 1999 | #2,314 | 64 | 0.0036% |
| 1998 | #2,800 | 47 | 0.0027% |
| 1997 | #2,360 | 56 | 0.0032% |
| 1996 | #2,426 | 53 | 0.0030% |
| 1995 | #2,736 | 44 | 0.0025% |
| 1994 | #2,259 | 58 | 0.0032% |
| 1993 | #2,775 | 43 | 0.0024% |
| 1992 | #2,689 | 45 | 0.0024% |
| 1991 | #2,942 | 39 | 0.0021% |
| 1990 | #5,580 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1989 | #4,371 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1988 | #4,186 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 1987 | #3,343 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 1986 | #4,202 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1985 | #5,098 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1984 | #8,227 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1983 | #9,115 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1982 | #7,535 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1959 | #6,304 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1958 | #4,539 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1957 | #4,220 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1956 | #4,184 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1952 | #4,514 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1951 | #5,467 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1949 | #5,291 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1947 | #4,376 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1944 | #4,614 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1942 | #3,768 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1941 | #4,456 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1940 | #4,408 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1939 | #1,739 | 20 | 0.0018% |
| 1938 | #2,460 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1937 | #1,920 | 17 | 0.0016% |
| 1936 | #2,705 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1935 | #2,746 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1934 | #2,942 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1933 | #3,432 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1932 | #1,821 | 19 | 0.0018% |
| 1931 | #2,314 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1930 | #2,118 | 16 | 0.0014% |
| 1929 | #1,834 | 20 | 0.0018% |
| 1928 | #2,394 | 14 | 0.0012% |
| 1927 | #2,878 | 11 | 0.0009% |
| 1926 | #2,078 | 18 | 0.0015% |
| 1925 | #2,630 | 13 | 0.0011% |
| 1924 | #2,064 | 19 | 0.0015% |
| 1923 | #1,844 | 22 | 0.0018% |
| 1922 | #1,792 | 23 | 0.0019% |
| 1921 | #1,169 | 43 | 0.0035% |
| 1920 | #2,913 | 11 | 0.0009% |
| 1918 | #3,261 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1916 | #3,290 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1915 | #2,921 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1907 | #2,097 | 5 | 0.0016% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,886 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2024 | #7,785 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #8,992 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #10,899 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #9,669 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2013 | #10,865 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #10,508 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1992 | #7,497 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #7,249 | 6 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Avalon Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are always looking for an opportunity to achieve financial and emotional security. You are basically peacemaker. You understand the law of harmony and desire to balance your life with those around you. You may feel incomplete without someone to share your love, ideals, wealth or work. You can be very sensitive and could appear a bit shy and perceptive. You have developed intuition, patience and the ability to nurture others. You can achieve the state of happiness if you are willing to accept your needs in a complimentary relationship and go to create them.
✦ Avalon's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Avalon's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.