Avis is both a given name, mostly feminine but also masculine, and a surname.
Given name
The earliest form of this female given name was the Old German Haduwig comprising the elements ''hadu'' "battle" and ''wig'' "fight": the original form of the modern German female name
Hedwig Hedwig may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Hedwig (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Grzegorz Hedwig (born 1988), Polish slalom canoeist
* Johann Hedwig, (1730–1799), German botanist
* Romanus Adol ...
, Haduwig was modified to Havoise by the Normans and subsequent to the Norman Invasion the name occurred frequently in England throughout the Middle Ages, the standard Middle English form of the name being Hawise. As a female given name in modern times, Avis is associated with the Latin ''avis'', meaning "bird", although the spelling
Avice is sometimes found.
People with the given name include:
*
Avis Acres
Thyra Avis Mary Acres (née McNeill, 26 March 1910 – 15 October 1994) was a New Zealand artist, writer, illustrator and conservationist. She is best known for her comic strip about two pohutukawa fairies, ''Hutu and Kawa''.
Biography
Av ...
(1910–1994), New Zealand children's author and illustrator
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Avis Bohlen (born 1940), American diplomat, former Ambassador to Bulgaria
*
Avis Bunnage (1923–1990), British actress
*
Avis DeVoto (1904–1989), American editor and collaborator with
Julia Child
Julia Carolyn Child (née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American cooking teacher, author, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, ...
*
Avis M. Dry
Avis Mary Dry (30 April 1922 – 26 January 2007) was a clinical psychologist and an author on the psychology of Carl Jung.
Biography
Although British by birth, she spent much of her early life in New Zealand after her parents emigrated wh ...
(1922–2007), clinical psychologist and author on the psychology of Carl Jung
*
Avis Favaro
Avis Favaro (born February, 1960) is Canada's longest serving on air medical correspondent – now with CTV National News since 1992. She has won numerous awards including a Gemini Award.
Favaro previously worked as medical correspondent for the ...
(born 1958), Canadian TV medical correspondent
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Avis Gray (born 1954), Canadian politician
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Avis Higgs
Avis Winifred Higgs (21 September 1918 – 14 October 2016) was a New Zealand textile designer and painter.
Education
Higgs was born in 1918 in Wellington into a family of artists. Both her great grandfather and her grandfather were highly re ...
(1918–2016), New Zealand textile designer and painter
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Avis Hotchkiss, American pioneering motorcyclist who made a round-trip journey from New York to San Francisco with her daughter in 1915
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Avis Kimble (born 1944), American model
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Avice Landone (1910–1976), British actress
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Avis McIntosh (born 1938), New Zealand former sprinter
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Avis Miller
Avis is Latin for bird and may refer to:
Aviation
*Auster Avis, a 1940s four-seat light aircraft developed from the Auster Autocrat (abandoned project)
*Avro Avis, a two-seat biplane
*Scottish Aeroplane Syndicate Avis, an early aircraft built by ...
(born 1945), American model and ''Playboy'' Playmate
*
Avis Newman
Avis Newman (born 1946, London) is an English painter and sculptor.
Newman's drawings and large un-stretched canvases document her contemplative and intuitive investigation of the subconscious. Since the early 1980s she has been primarily associa ...
(born 1946), English painter and sculptor
*
Avis Tucker (1915–2010), American owner and publisher of ''The Daily Star-Journal'' newspaper
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Avis Stearns Van Wagenen
Avis Stearns Van Wagenen (January 1, 1841 - January 3, 1907) was a partner in '' E. C. Stearns & Company'', a hardware business, with her brother, Edward C. Stearns in the late 19th century in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New Y ...
(1841–1907), a partner in E. C. Stearns & Company
*
Avis Wyatt (born 1984), American male former basketball player
Surname
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David Avis (born 1951), Canadian and British computer scientist
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Gary Avis, English ballet dancer with The Royal Ballet
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Paul Avis (born 1947), Anglican priest, theologian and ecumenist
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Samuel B. Avis
Samuel Brashear Avis (February 19, 1872 – June 8, 1924) was an American politician who represented West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives from 1913 to 1915.
Avis was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia where he attended the pub ...
(1872–1924), American politician
*
Warren Avis (1915–2007), the founder of Avis Rent A Car
References
English feminine given names
{{Bird-surname