Definition of "Ava"

Ava Haynes, the oldest daughter, was a warm friend of Lillie Calhoun, whom she soon sought and led quickly into the conservatory.

1881, Mary E. Jackson, The Spy of Osawatomie; or, The Mysterious Companions of Old John Brown, W.S.Bryan, page 57

My mother named me Ava because she liked how the English letters looked - the big A a beak pointed upward, the v a sharp slash of wings, the small a round and flat as a parrot's eye.

2004, Gayle Brandeis, The Book of Dead Birds: A Novel, HarperCollins, page 5