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 "rather odd but suitable", as "she sings quite as sweetly as any thrush"[1]). 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");[2] and in the popular love song "Mary of Argyle" (c.1850), where lyricist Charles Jefferys wrote, "I have heard the mavis singing its love-song to the morn."[3]
Mavis had its height of popularity between the 1920s and 1940s. Its usage declined thereafter, and it has been rather unfashionable since the 1960s.[4]
Notable people
- Mavis Adjei, Ghanaian actress
- Mavis Akoto, Ghanaian sprinter
- Mavis Batey, MBE (1921-2013), English code-breaker during World War II
- Mavis Biesanz (1919–2008), Finnish-American writer and sociologist
- Mavis B. Carroll (1917–2009), American statistician
- Mavis Cheek (b. 1948), English novelist and feminist
- Mavis Chirandu (b. 1995), Zimbabwean footballer
- Mavis Thorpe Clark, AM (1909-1999), Australian novelist and children's writer
- Mavis Danso (b. 1984), Ghanaian footballer
- Mavis Doering (1929–2007), Cherokee Nation basketmaker from Oklahoma
- Mavis Dgajmah (b. 1973), Ghanaian footballer
- Mavis Ehlert (1922–2007), British-Canadian sculptor
- Mavis Fan (b. 1977), Taiwanese singer
- Mavis Freeman (1918–1988), American swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics
- Mavis Gallant (1922–2014), Canadian writer
- Mavis Gibson, 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 (1894–1979), British author
- Mavis Hee (b. 1974), Singaporean singer
- Mavis Hinds (1929–2009), English meteorologist
- Mavis Hutchinson (1924-2022), first woman to run across the United States
- Mavis Jones (1922–1990), Australian cricket player
- Mavis Jukes (b. 1947), American children's author
- Mavis Kelsey (1912–2013), American internist and one of the founders of the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic
- Mavis Hawa Koomson (b. 1966), Ghanaian politician and educationist
- Mavis Le Marquand, Jersey lawn bowler
- Mavis Leno (b. 1946), American feminist and wife of Jay Leno
- Mavis Maclean, MBE, FRSA (b. 1943), socio-legal researcher at the University of Oxford and founder of the Oxford Centre for Family Law and Policy (OXFLAP)
- Mavis Meadowcroft (1926–2008), Australian lawn bowler
- Mavis Moyo (b. 1929), Radio Zimbabwe broadcaster and founding member of the Federation of African Media Women Zimbabwe (FAMWZ)
- Mavis Mullins, New Zealand businesswoman
- Mavis Nicholson (1930–2022), Welsh broadcaster
- Mavis Ogun (b. 1973), Nigerian footballer who played in three FIFA Women's World Cups
- Mavis Pugh (1914–2006), English actress and comedian
- Mavis Rivers (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 (b. 1939), American rhythm and blues singer
- Mavis Steele MBE (1928–1998), British lawn bowler
- Mavis Sweeney (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 (1915–2007), Australian humanitarian
- Mavis Tchibota (b. 1996), Congolese footballer
- Mavis Villiers (1911–1976), British actress
- Mavis Wilson (fl. 1980–90s), Canadian politician
Fictional characters
- Mavis Anderson, secondary character and best friend to Miss Ellie Ewing (Barbara Bel Geddes) in Dallas
- Mavis Beacon, the eponymous African-American typing instructor of the Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing software
- Mavis Bramston, from The Mavis Bramston Show (1964–1968), an Australian television satire
- Mavis Buckey, an anthropomorphic animal character from the Funny Farm series
- Mavis Clare, a popular author who resists the temptation of the Devil in The Sorrows of Satan by Marie Corelli
- Mavis Cruet, an obese young fairy 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
- Mavis DeVere, one version of the actual name of Bubbles DeVere, a character in the BBC comedy series Little Britain
- 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
- Mavis Madling, in the situation comedy series Designing Women
- 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, part of his Dancers at the End of Time series
- Mavis Munro, office manager in the comic book series Supernatural Law and Supernatural Law Secretary Mavis
- Mavis, a minor character in The Addy Book Series from American Girl
- 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, 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, in the British soap opera Coronation Street
- Dark Mavis, recurring character in English rock band Mansun's debut album Attack of the Grey Lantern
- Mavis (DC Comics), two fictional characters who first appeared in the DC Comics universe
- Mavis, from the BBC comedy Open All Hours
- Mavis, a diesel locomotive character from The Railway Series books by the Rev. W. Awdry and from the derived children's television series Thomas & Friends
Other uses
- Kawanishi H6K, Japanese WWII flying boat, codenamed "Mavis"
References
- ↑ Marie Corelli 'The Sorrows of Satan 2006 Adamant Media Corporation p. 127
- ↑ "Traditional Scottish Songs - Ca' the Yowes". rampantscotland.com. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ↑ "Here in the Bonny Glen: Poetry Friday: Bonny Mary o' Argyle". typepad.com. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ↑ Campbell, Mike. "Meaning, origin and history of the name Mavis". behindthename.com. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
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