You won't believe this but I did in fact have a great aunt with this name. It was pronounced Ayv most similar to the modern Ava without the second A. People would sometimes call her Avenue to annoy her since in the US Ave is an Avenue abbreviation. She had a few descendents named Ava after her. I like it and prefer it with my aunt's pronunciation, but definitely more as a middle name it seems a little empty as a first name but a nice bridge.