I recently stumbled across a Facebook thread that began after a new mother asked if anyone knew of little girls being named “Avonlea” and whether anyone knows what the word actually means. Here are a few samples of answers, written by a number of women who have chosen to name their daughters after L.M. Montgomery’s beloved fictional town.
Laura: There are theories that LM Montgomery was inspired to name her fictional town Avonlea by Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare was born. Avon is a river in the UK. If I'm not mistaken the other possible inspiration was Avalon, an island featured in legends about King Arthur. According to Wikipedia the Avalon comes from the Celtic word abal which means apple. That might be a hint…
Lori: We named our daughter Avonlea when she was born in 2001. She is now doing a report at school on her name. We have discovered that Avon means: River; Lea means: Meadow. So, the two together could be: River Meadow. We also got the name from the story Anne Green Gables. We loved it for a girl's name. We will sometimes call her Avie as well.
Andrea: I have a two year old daughter named Avonlea but it is spelled Avanlea, because everyone here in Mississippi says Avon like the makeup! Another very pretty way to spell it is Avanleigh We also so call her Avie for short. I love the name and it is not very common at all but seems to be gaining popularity. We also call her Avie but her 18 month old cousin calls her Al-a-lee…
Dawn: We are having a baby in July and her name will be Avonlea Grace if it is a girl. I have loved the Anne of Green Gables story since I was a young girl and the name always evokes such a beautiful and lovely image and memories for me so I can't wait to have a daughter with this name. Glad to know there are a few more out there but not too many!! …her blankets and such are monogrammed Avonlea!... We are so excited and every time we say the name people have such an enthusiastic reaction!
The only thing we haven't liked is when people want to pronounce it Avon like the cosmetics…ugh… Also found this under meanings in the baby name wizard : "a return to childlike faith, simple beauty, noble purity, and compassion for the least". We just say Avonlea rhymes with Heavenly! I can always tell when people have read the book they go into orbit when they hear it. It is beautiful written.
Tracy: My 3 1/2 year old daughter's name is Avonlea Rain Elizabeth. I had picked out that name when I was a child and promised myself I would name my baby girl this someday if I was fortunate enough to have a baby girl. I stayed true to my word.
Karen: I have not had a girl yet, but if I do, she will be called Avonlea Jane, middle name in honor of Jane Austen/Jane Eyre. I think we will call her Avi or Aven as a nick name. I really hope the name does not become too popular. I have loved it forever!!
Alecia: While I love the name, it has been my experience that no one EVER says it right. Yes, people say it's pretty (that's after I've repeated it two or three times) and very rarely do I come across someone who has actually heard of it as used in the books. So that's pretty annoying. We call her Avie a lot just because it's easier. I hope when she's older she'll like her name and go by the full form but often I wonder if I made the right choice! Not to scare you or anything, this has just been my experience. I hope you have better luck in your area!
Ashley: My husband and I just found out that we are having a baby girl and have also decided to name her Avonlea! I've been a fan of the Anne series since I was young and have had this named picked out since I was in my early teens. I live in SC and have only seen one other girl around here named this. =) I also thought about changing the spelling but I also wanted it to be authentic to the books/movie since that is after all what she's being named after. =)
If you have named your child after Anne of Green Gables, Avonlea or any other famous names from literature, please comment below with your story!
