Personally I find it confusing that all of their iPads since 2010 are simply called "iPad" even though they're completely different. Same with all their products except the iPhone, that get a number in their official name.
You have to dig into hidden "gen number" to find out which iPad is the one you bought 3 years ago.
Yes, people are only confused because they think it means cheapest, which is ultimately a failing of Apple branding but doesn't really make much sense to me.
I don't equate Air line to "cheapest", I think of it where compromises were made in the name of lower weight: lower TDP cpu, less cooling capacity etc.
You have to dig into hidden "gen number" to find out which iPad is the one you bought 3 years ago.