Ava Gardner
There are approximately 158 people named Ava Gardner living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 2,169,331 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Ava with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Gardner. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
158
1 in 2,169,331
Named Ava
326K
Alive today
Named Gardner
166K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 326K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 2007
Average age: 15
Estimated bearers: 166K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #194
Per 100K: 48.44
Top ancestry: White (75.0%)
First name trend
Ava: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Ava. The peak year was 2007 with 18,065 births. The average person named Ava today is 15 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Gardner surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Gardner, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 75.0%.
- White75.0%
- Black or African American19.4%
- Hispanic or Latino2.3%
- Two or more races2.0%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Ava has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0950% of the US population, based on 325,708 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Gardner appears at a rate of 48.44 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0484%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 158 people with the full name Ava Gardner. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people with the surname Gardner
FAQ
Ava Gardner: questions and answers
How many people are named Ava Gardner?
We estimate approximately 158 people in the United States share the full name Ava Gardner. That works out to about 1 in 2,169,331 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0950%) with the surname frequency (48.44 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Ava Gardner?
We classify Ava Gardner as "Very Rare". About 1 in 2,169,331 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Ava a male or female name?
Ava is predominantly female. Out of 336,608 total SSA registrations, 0.1% were male and 99.9% were female. See the full Ava profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.