Mavis is a female given name, derived from a name for the common Old World song thrush. Its first modern usage was in

Marie Corelli Mary Mackay (1 May 185521 April 1924), also called Minnie Mackey, and known by her pseudonym Marie Corelli (, also , ), was an English novelist. From the appearance of her first novel ''A Romance of Two Worlds'' in 1886, she became the bestsel ...

's 1895 novel ''

The Sorrows of Satan ''The Sorrows of Satan'' is an 1895 Faustian novel by Marie Corelli. It is widely regarded as one of the world's first best-sellers – partly due to an upheaval in the system British libraries used to purchase their books, and partly due to its ...

'', which featured a character named Mavis Clare (whose name was said to be "rather odd but suitable", as "she sings quite as sweetly as any thrush"). The name was long obsolete by the 19th century, but known from its poetic use, as in Robert Burns's 1794 poem ''Ca' the Yowes'' ("Hark the mavis evening sang/Sounding Clouden's woods amang"); and in the popular love song "Mary of Argyle" (c.1850), where lyricist

Charles Jefferys Charles Jefferys (11 January 1807 – 9 June 1865, in London) was an English music publisher and composer of songs. Career Jefferys carried on a London music publishing business. In 1854 he won a legal action with Thomas Boosey, respecting copy ...

wrote, "I have heard the mavis singing its love-song to the morn." ''Mavis'' had its height of popularity between the 1920s and 1940s. Its usage declined thereafter, and it has been rather unfashionable since the 1960s.

Notable people

* Mavis Adjei, Ghanaian actress * Mavis Akoto, Ghanaian sprinter *

Mavis Batey Mavis Lilian Batey, MBE (née Lever; 5 May 1921 – 12 November 2013), was a British code-breaker during World War II. She was one of the leading female codebreakers at Bletchley Park. She later became a historian of gardening who campaign ...

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(1921-2013), English code-breaker during World War II *

Mavis Biesanz Mavis Hiltunen Biesanz (July 27, 1919 Vermilion Lake Township, MinnesotaThe Tico Times, March 7, 2008, page W3 – February 21, 2008 Escazú, Costa Rica) was a Finnish-American writer and sociologist. Many of her books were about Central American ...

(1919–2008), Finnish-American writer and sociologist *

Mavis B. Carroll Mavis Bowler Carroll (October 12, 1917 – March 7, 2009) was an American statistician who pioneered the industrial use of statistics in her work at General Foods. Carroll finished high school at age 16 and attended the New Jersey College for Wom ...

(1917–2009), American statistician *

Mavis Cheek Mavis Cheek (born 1948) is an English novelist, author of 15 novels. Some of these have been widely translated into other languages. Life Born in Wimbledon, now part of London, Mavis only met her father once, at the age of seven. Her mother wor ...

(b. 1948), English novelist and feminist *

Mavis Chirandu Mavis Chirandu (born 15 January 1995) is a Zimbabwean association football, footballer who plays for Weerams F.C. and the Zimbabwe women's national football team. Biography and career As a Infant, newborn, Chirandu was abandoned by her mother ...

(b. 1995), Zimbabwean footballer * Mavis Thorpe Clark, AM (1909-1999), Australian novelist and children's writer *

Mavis Danso Mavis Danso (born 24 March 1984) is a Ghanaian women's international footballer who plays as a defender. She is a member of the Ghana women's national football team. She was part of the team at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup and 2007 FIFA Women ...

(b. 1984), Ghanaian footballer *

Mavis Doering Mavis Doering (1929 – 2007) was a Cherokee Nation basketmaker from Oklahoma. Early life Doering was born in Hominy, Oklahoma and was the third generation of a family of basketmakers. She was mostly self-taught. Beginning in the 1970s, she re ...

(1929–2007),

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

basketmaker from Oklahoma * Mavis Dgajmah (b. 1973), Ghanaian footballer * Mavis Ehlert (1922–2007), British-Canadian sculptor *

Mavis Fan Mavis Fan (; born 27 February 1977) is a Taiwanese singer and actress. Life and career Fan began her singing career in the mid 90s as a pop idol, singing songs catered mostly towards children and young teenagers. Fan was raised only by her mot ...

(b. 1977), Taiwanese singer *

Mavis Freeman Mavis Anne Freeman (November 7, 1918 – October 1988) was an American competition swimmer who represented the United States in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Freeman received a bronze medal as a member of the third-place U.S. team ...

(1918–1988), American swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics * Mavis Gallant (1922–2014), Canadian writer *

Mavis Gibson Mavis Gibson is a Zimbabwean lawyer and judge who was the first black woman appointed to High Court of Zimbabwe, and the first female and longest serving-justice of the High Court of Namibia. Born Mavis Gumede in Zimbabwe, Gibson was originally ...

, Zimbabwean lawyer, first black woman judge of the High Court of Zimbabwe, and first woman judge of the High Court of Namibia * Mavis Gray née Beckett (b. 1944), Australian field hockey player *

Mavis Doriel Hay Mavis Doriel Hay (1894–1979), also known as M. Doriel Hay, was a British author of detective fiction and of non-fiction works on handicrafts. Life Hay was born in Potters Bar in Middlesex, England on 12 or 13 February 1894 and attended St ...

(1894–1979), British author * Mavis Hee (b. 1974), Singaporean singer *

Mavis Hinds Mavis Kathleen Hinds (1929–2009) was an English meteorologist who, together with Fred Bushby, pioneered the use of computers to carry out meteorological calculations in the UK. She studied Mathematics at University College London (UCL) and on g ...

(1929–2009), English meteorologist * Mavis Hutchinson, first woman to run across the United States *

Mavis Jones Mavis Jones (10 December 1922 - 1990) was an Australian cricketer. Jones was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and played three women's Test matches for the Australia national women's cricket team. She died in Lakes Entrance Lakes Entrance is a se ...

(1922–1990), Australian cricket player *

Mavis Jukes Dorothy Mavis Jukes (pseudonym Iris Hudson; born May 3, 1947) is an American author of novels for children. She has also published nonfiction books for children and pre-teens about puberty. Her books are usually health-based. She has also written ...

(b. 1947), American children's author *

Mavis Kelsey Mavis Parrott Kelsey Sr. (October 7, 1912 – November 12, 2013) was an American internist and one of the founders of the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic in 1949, now a large, multi-specialty clinic system located in the metro area of Houston, Texas. K ...

(1912–2013), American internist and one of the founders of the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic *

Mavis Hawa Koomson Mavis Hawa Koomson (born 3 February 1966) is a Ghanaian politician and educationist. She is the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East Constituency and doubles as the Minister of Special Development Initiatives. She was appointed by President ...

(b. 1966), Ghanaian politician and educationist *

Mavis Le Marquand Mavis Le Marquand is a former international lawn bowler from Jersey. She won a silver medal in the pairs at the 1992 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Ayr with Sheila Syvret. She also competed at the 1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Com ...

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

lawn bowler * Mavis Leno (b. 1946), American feminist and wife of

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

* Mavis Maclean,

, FRSA (b. 1943), socio-legal researcher at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

and founder of the Oxford Centre for Family Law and Policy (OXFLAP) *

Mavis Meadowcroft Mavis Edna Meadowcroft (1926-2008) was an international lawn bowls competitor for Australia. She won the triples gold medal and fours silver medal at the 1985 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwur ...

(1926–2008), Australian

lawn bowler Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

Mavis Moyo Mavis Moyo is a veteran broadcaster of Radio Zimbabwe (ZBC Radio 4) and a founding member of the Federation of African Media Women Zimbabwe (FAMWZ 1985). During the 1980s and 1990s she was leading a project, which became known as Development Thr ...

(b. 1929), Radio Zimbabwe broadcaster and founding member of the Federation of African Media Women Zimbabwe (FAMWZ) * Mavis Mullins, New Zealand businesswoman *

Mavis Nicholson Mavis Nicholson (née Mainwaring; 19 October 1930 – 8 September 2022) was a Welsh writer and radio and television broadcaster. She was born in Wales, and worked throughout the United Kingdom. Early life Nicholson was born on 19 October 1930 i ...

(b. 1930), Welsh broadcaster *

Mavis Ogun Mavis Ogun (born 24 August 1973) is a Nigerian footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender for the Nigeria women's national football team. She was part of the team at the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup, 1995 FIFA Women's Wor ...

(b. 1973), Nigerian footballer who played in three

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...

s *

Mavis Pugh Mavis Gladys Fox Pugh (25 June 1914 – 6 December 2006) was a British actress who made many appearances (typically playing upper-class women) in several sitcoms including ''Dad's Army'', ''Are You Being Served?'' and ''Fawlty Towers''. Her best ...

(1914–2006), English actress and comedian *

Mavis Rivers Mavis Chloe Rivers (19 May 1929 – 29 May 1992) was a Samoan and New Zealand jazz singer. She was born in Apia, Samoa, as one of thirteen children to a musical family. In 1954, she moved to the United States. She married Glicerio Reyes "David" ...

(1929–1992), Samoan and New Zealand jazz singer * Mavis Smitheman, local body councillor for Ardwick, Manchester * Mavis Staines (b. 1954), Canadian ballet dancer *

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers (she is the last surviving member of that band). Durin ...

(b. 1939), American rhythm and blues singer *

Mavis Steele Mavis Mary Steele (1928-1998) was an England international lawn bowler. Personal life Mavis was born in Kenton, Middlesex on 9 September 1928. She was a data preparation manager by trade. Bowls career In 1973 she secured a double silver at the ...

(1928–1998), British

Mavis Sweeney Mavis Grace Sweeney (1909 – 23 July 1986) was an Australian hospital pharmacist who was awarded the Evans Medal for Merit in 1968. The Evans Medal of Merit recognised outstanding contributions to the profession of pharmacy. Early years Her g ...

(1909–1986), Australian hospital pharmacist who was awarded The Evans Medal for Merit in 1968 * Mavis Taillieu (b. 1952), Canadian politician * Mavis Tate (1893–1947), British Conservative Party politician and feminist, born Maybird Hogg *

Mavis Taylor Mavis Taylor (1914 – 17 March 2007) was an Australian who was named an Australian Living Treasure for her humanitarian work for the people of East Timor in her later years. Life Mrs Taylor was born in Richmond, Victoria in 1914 At 16 she mov ...

(1915–2007), Australian humanitarian * Mavis Tchibota (b. 1996), Congolese footballer *

Mavis Villiers Mavis Villiers (born Mavis Clare Cooney; 10 December 190923 February 1976) was an Australian-born British actress of stage, film and television. Her parents were John Cooney and Clara Smythe. Her brother, Cecil Cooney, was a camera operator an ...

(1911–1976), British actress *

Mavis Wilson Mavis Wilson (born ) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1990 who represented the riding of Dufferin—Peel. She served as a cabinet minister in the government ...

(

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1980–90s), Canadian politician

Fictional characters

* Mavis Anderson, secondary character and best friend to

Miss Ellie Ewing Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Ewing Farlow (maiden name Southworth) is a fictional character from the primetime CBS television series ''Dallas'', a long-running serial centered on the lives of the wealthy Ewing family of Dallas, Texas. Created by writer ...

(

Barbara Bel Geddes Barbara Bel Geddes (October 31, 1922 – August 8, 2005) was an American stage and screen actress, artist, and children's author whose career spanned almost five decades. She was best known for her starring role as Miss Ellie Ewing in the t ...

) in ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'' * Mavis Beacon, the eponymous African-American typing instructor of the Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing software * Mavis Bramston, from ''

The Mavis Bramston Show ''The Mavis Bramston Show'' was a weekly Australian television satirical sketch comedy revue series which aired on the Seven Network from 1964 to 1968. Inspired by the British TV satirical revue TV shows of the period (notably ''That Was The Week ...

'' (1964–1968), an Australian television satire * Mavis Buckey, an anthropomorphic animal character from the ''

Funny Farm Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociati ...

'' series * Mavis Clare, a popular author who resists the temptation of the Devil in ''

'' by

* Mavis Cruet, an obese young

fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

incapable of flight, from the British children's animated series '' Willo the Wisp'' * Mavis Davis, a pseudonymous singer in the British comedy ''

Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis ''Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis'' is a British comedy film directed by John Henderson, originally released in 1997. The film stars Rik Mayall, Jane Horrocks, Danny Aiello and Ross Boatman. The title and plot reference Peckinpah's ''Bring Me ...

'' * Mavis DeVere, one version of the actual name of

Bubbles DeVere This is a list of characters for the British television and radio sketch show ''Little Britain'' (and its American spin-off, ''Little Britain USA''). Overview ;Key : Characters that appear for only one sketch are not listed in the table A ...

, a character in the BBC comedy series ''

Little Britain Little Britain may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little Britain'' (sketch show), a British radio and then TV show ** ''Little Britain USA'', an American spin-off * "Little Britain", a song by Dreadzone from the 1995 album '' Second Light'' ...

'' * Mavis Dracula, a 118-year-old vampire and the daughter of Count Dracula in the '' Hotel Transylvania'' movie franchise * Mavis Freestone, a singer in the ''... in Death'' series of detective novels * Mavis Gary, the main character of ''

Young Adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

'' *

Mavis Madling ''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS from September 29, 1986, to May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason M ...

, in the situation comedy series ''

Designing Women ''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS from September 29, 1986, to May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason M ...

'' * Mavis McCready, a recurring character in the television series '' Greenleaf'', portrayed by Oprah Winfrey * Mavis Ming, title character of Michael Moorcock's ''

The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming ''The Dancers at the End of Time'' is a series of science fiction novels and short stories written by Michael Moorcock, the setting of which is the End of Time, an era "where entropy is king and the universe has begun collapsing upon itself". T ...

'', part of his ''

Dancers at the End of Time ''The Dancers at the End of Time'' is a series of science fiction novels and short stories written by Michael Moorcock, the setting of which is the End of Time, an era "where entropy is king and the universe has begun collapsing upon itself". T ...

'' series * Mavis Munro, office manager in the comic book series ''

Supernatural Law ''Supernatural Law'', previously known as ''Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre'', is a comic strip, comic book and web comic series written and illustrated by Batton Lash. The series features the law practice of Alanna Wolff and Jeff Byrd ...

'' and ''Supernatural Law Secretary Mavis'' * Mavis, a minor character in The Addy Book Series from ''

American Girl American Girl is an American line of dolls released on May 5, 1986, by Pleasant Company. The dolls portray eight- to fourteen-year-old boys and girls of a variety of ethnicities, faiths, and social classes from different time periods throughou ...

'' * Mavis, a thirteen year old girl with the powers of the birds of the world in the children's book series Mavis A Genuine Heroine *

Mavis Pike ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran for ...

, in the British situation comedy '' Dad's Army'' * Mavis Rae, main character in the situation comedy '' Whoopi'' * Mavis Vermillion, founder and first master of the same-named guild in manga and anime '' Fairy Tail'' *

Mavis Wilton Mavis Wilton (also Riley) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Thelma Barlow. A long-running series regular, Mavis appeared in the show for 26 years from 1971 to 1997. Introduced for a ...

, in the British soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' * Dark Mavis, recurring character in English rock band

Mansun Mansun were an English alternative rock band, formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rathbone. It was announc ...

's debut album ''

Attack of the Grey Lantern ''Attack of the Grey Lantern'' is the debut album by English alternative rock band Mansun released in February 1997 via Parlophone. The album spent a total of 19 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number one. Background According to Mansu ...

'' *

Mavis (DC Comics) Mavis is a female given name, derived from a name for the common Old World song thrush. Its first modern usage was in Marie Corelli's 1895 novel ''The Sorrows of Satan'', which featured a character named Mavis Clare (whose name was said to be "rat ...

, two fictional characters who first appeared in the DC Comics universe * Mavis, from the BBC comedy '' Open All Hours'' *

Mavis Mavis is a female given name, derived from a name for the common Old World song thrush. Its first modern usage was in Marie Corelli's 1895 novel ''The Sorrows of Satan'', which featured a character named Mavis Clare (whose name was said to be "rat ...

, a diesel locomotive character from ''

The Railway Series ''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. Twen ...

'' books by the

Rev. W. Awdry Wilbert Vere Awdry (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997) was an English Anglican minister, railway enthusiast, and children's author. He was best known for creating Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas and several other characters he created appeared ...

and from the derived children's television series ''

Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...

References

{{given name, cat=English feminine given names