Lavigne's birth surname is usually pronounced in an anglicized way as /ˈævrəl ləˈviːn/"La-Veen" (in French it is commonly pronounced (la veen) . Avril is French for "April", while la vigne means "the vine" or "the vineyard".

Lavigne's debut album, Let Go, was released in 2002, and went on to sell over 18 million copies worldwide. and was certified six times platinum in the United States Her second and third albums, Under My Skin (2004) and The Best Damn Thing (2007), respectively, reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200. Lavigne has scored five number one songs worldwide to date and a total of eleven top ten hits, including "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi", "I'm with You", "My Happy Ending", and "Girlfriend".