Mavis

French

"songbird"

Mavis Origin and Meaning

The name Mavis is a girl's name of French origin meaning "songbird".

Mavis, another word for the song thrush, is also a relative of the Welsh word for strawberries, mefus. Mavis has something of a British World War II feel, a friend of Beryl and Doris, but it was quite popular in the U.S. a couple of decades earlier, peaking in the Roaring Twenties. With the renewed interest in names ending in 's' — and in bird names — Mavis could make a return, especially with the new interest in Maeve, and in fact, it reentered the US Top 1000 after a 50-year absence in 2016.

Some noted bearers of the name are R&B singer Mavis Staples, a member of the Staple Singers, Canadian writer Mavis Gallant and the feminist activist Mavis Leno.

Mavis Gary was the name of the Charlize Theron character in the film Young Adult. And — trivia tidbit — in her short-running eponymous sitcom, Whoopi Goldberg's character was named Mavis.

Mavis Rank in US Top 1000

# 595 in the US

Mavis Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 454 on Nameberry

Mavis Popularity

• 595 US 2023
• 454 Nameberry 2024
• 455 Future 2028

20 Names Similar to Mavis

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Mavis.

• Avis
• Maven
• Mabel
• Opal
• Maude
• Dorothy
• Maeve
• Enid
• Ramona
• Lottie
• Birdie
• Marigold
• Edith
• Sybil
• Ida
• Alma
• Minerva
• Juno
• Margo
• Harriet

Famous People Named Mavis

• Mavis Staples American singer and civil rights activist
• Mavis Leslie de Trafford Gallant Canadian fiction writer
• Mavis Fan Taiwanese pop singer
• Mavis Hee (born Xu Meifeng) Singaporean pop singer
• Mavis Clare Villiers Australian,British actress
• Mavis Cheek English novelist
• Mavis Anne Freeman American Olympic swimmer
• Mavis Elizabeth Nicholson Leno American philanthropist; wife of comedian Jay Leno
• Mavis Gladys Fox Pugh English actress
• Mavis Constance Tate (born Maybird Hogg) English politician
• Mavis Jukes American children's author
• Mavis Wilson Canadian politician
• Mavis Nicholson English television presenter

Mavis in Pop Culture

• Mavis Dracula a character in the movie "Hotel Transylvania"
• "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing " series of computer programs
• Mavis Clare character in "The Sorrows of Satan" by Marie Corelli, bestselling book that first popularized the name
• Mavis Vermillion character in the anime "Fairy Tail"
• Mavis Gary main character in movie "Young Adult "
• Mrs. Mavis Pike character in British TV's "Dad's Army"
• Mavis Wilton character in British soap "Coronation Street"
• Mavis Bennett character in New Zealand soap "Shortland Street"
• Mavis sea turtle from the 2014 film "Dolphin Tale 2"
• Mavis 'Mave' Carter character on TV's "Call the Midwife," twin sister Meg Carter
• Dark Mavis recurring character in English rock band Mansun's album "Attack of the Grey Lantern"
• Mavis Trent character in Hawkman comics
• Mavis character on British TV series "Open All Hours"
• Mavis character in the Thomas & Friends series
• Mavis Anderson character on TV's "Dallas"
• "The Mavis Bramston Show " Australian TV series
• Mavis Buckey character in the Funny Farm webcomic
• Mavis Cruet fairy character in British series "Willo the Wisp"
• "Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis " 1997 film
• Mavis "Bubbles" DeVere character on British comedy "Little Britain"
• Mavis Freestone character in the " ...in Death" series by J.D. Robb
• Mavis Madling character on TV's "Designing Women"
• "The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming " novel by Michael Moorcock
• Mavis Munro character in comics series "Supernatural Law"
• Mavis Neff character on TV's "The Andy Griffith Show"
• Mavis Newkirk character on TV's "Hogan's Heroes"
• Mavis Rae main character on TV's "Whoopi"
• Mavis Wartella Depew, character in video game "Rockett's New School"