April

Where April comes from

From Middle English apprile, Aprill, re-Latinised from Middle English aueril, from Old French avrill, from Latin Aprīlis (“of the month of the goddess Venus”), perhaps based on Etruscan 𐌀𐌐𐌓𐌖 (apru), from Ancient Greek Ἀφροδίτη (Aphrodítē, “Venus”). Displaced native Old English ēastermōnaþ (“April”, literally “Easter month”), see Eastermonth.
— Wiktionary's entry for April
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1917
    First appearance
    #4,083 among girls, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1960
    April Winchell born
    American voice actress
  3. 1979
    Peak, #23
    10,902 babies named April — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1980
    April Bowlby born
    American actress
  5. 1987
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #58.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name transferred from the month name [in turn from English]; used since the early 20th century.
Namesakes
  • April Bowlby · American actress, born 1980
  • April Winchell · American voice actress, born 1960
  • April Pearson · British actress, born 1989
  • April Ross · American beach volleyball player, born 1982
  • April Ashley · English model, actress, author, and activist, 1935–2021

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.