'avadavat' originates from Hindustani (from the Gujarati/Hindustani name for the city 'Amdāvād' / Ahmedabad), where birds of this type were commonly collected and traded; the city's name was applied to the bird in English.

'avadavat' was adopted into English via trade and colonial contact, with a Latinized genus name 'Amandava' formed for the species Amandava amandava; the English common name preserved the corruption of the original place-name.

Initially, the name referred specifically to birds associated with Ahmedabad (Amdāvād); over time it became the general English common name for the species now known as the strawberry finch (Amandava amandava).