Mavis is a female name. Its usage was initiated by Marie Corelli's 1895 novel The Sorrows of Satan which featured a character named Mavis Clare whose first name is said to be "rather odd" but suitable for Miss Clare as "she sings quite as sweetly as any thrush". Corelli patently was utilizing the common noun mavis2 which refers to the song thrush and was long obsolete by the 19th century but known from its poetic use as in Robert Burns's Ca' the Yowes ("Hark the mavis evening sang/Sounding Clouden's woods amang") written in 1794; also the popular love song "Mary of Argyle", written circa 1850 by lyricist Charles Jefferys features the line: "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 the name has become rather unfashionable since the 1960s.
2Old French
mauvisNotable persons with the first name Mavis include:
Mavis Adjei, Ghanaian actressMavis Doering (1929–2007), Cherokee Nation basket-weaverMavis Fan (born 1977), Taiwanese singerMavis Freeman (1918–1988, American swimmer who competed in the 1936 Olympic GamesMavis Gallant (b. 1922), Canadian writerMavis Gray née Beckett (b. 1944), Australian sportswomanMavis Hee (b. 1974), Singaporean singerMavis Hutchinson, first woman to run across the United StatesMavis Jukes (b. 1947), American children's authorMavis Leno (b. 1956), American feminist and wife of Jay LenoMavis Nicholson (b. 1930), Welsh broadcasterMavis Pugh (1914–2006), English actress and comedianMavis Smitheman, local body councillor for Ardwick, ManchesterMavis Staples (b. 1939), American rhythm and blues singerMavis Taillieu (b. 1952), Canadian politicianMavis Tate (1893–1947), British Conservative Party politician and feministMavis Taylor (1915–2007), Australian humanitarianMavis Villiers, an actressMavis Wilson (fl. 1980–90s), Canadian politicianThe Mavis's, Australian alternative rock bandNotable fictional characters with the first name Mavis include:
Dark Mavis, recurring character in English rock band Mansun's debut album Attack of the Grey LanternMavis, a controversial personification of viewers of daytime shopping television, made by Katie Hopkins of the third series of the UK television reality programme The Apprentice; Mavis is said to have had an ample bosom and to be single and lonely, among other thingsMavis, two fictional characters who first appeared in the DC Comics universeMavis, a character from the BBC comedy Open All HoursMavis, a diesel locomotive character from The Railway Series books by the Rev. W. Awdry and from the derived children's television series Thomas & Friends;Mavis Anderson, secondary character in Dallas, best friend to Miss Ellie EwingMavis Beacon, the eponymous African-American typing instructor of the Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing softwareMavis Bramston, from The Mavis Bramston Show (1964–1968), Australian television satireMavis Buckey, anthropomorphic animal character from the Funny Farm seriesMavis Clare, a popular author who resists the temptation of the Devil in The Sorrows of Satan by Marie CorelliMavis Cruet, an obese young fairy incapable of flight, from the British children's animated series Willo the Wisp (1981/2005)Mavis Davis, a pseudonymous singer in the British comedy Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis (1997)Mavis DeVere, one version of the actual name of Bubbles DeVere, a character in the BBC comedy series Little BritainMavis Dracula, a 118-year-old vampire and the daughter of Count Dracula in the 2012 animated film Hotel TransylvaniaMavis Freestone, a singer, from the ...in Death series of detective novelsMavis Gary, an emotionally unavailable author and the main character of Young Adult (2011)Mavis Madling, a character in the situation comedy series Designing WomenMavis Ming, title character in Michael Moorcock's The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming, part of his Dancers at the End of Time seriesMavis Munro, office manager in the comic book series Supernatural Law and Supernatural Law Secretary MavisMavis Neff, a girlfriend of Andy Griffith in The Andy Griffith ShowMavis Newkirk, Corporal Newkirk's sister on Hogan's HeroesMavis Pike, character in the British situation comedy Dad's ArmyMavis Rae, main character in the situation comedy WhoopiMavis Vermillion, founder and first master of the same-named guild in manga-anime Fairy TailMavis Wartella-Depew, an elementary school student in Rockett's New School, a video gameMavis Wilton, a character in Coronation Street