Given name & surname · also French, Breton
Mavis
“resembling a songbird”·“resembling a small bird”
Mavis is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “resembling a songbird” (French) and “resembling a small bird” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “resembling a songbird” (French) and “resembling a small bird” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Old French and Breton naming traditions.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1893. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mavis through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 23,150
- 135 boys · 23,015 girls
- Most popular year
- 1927
- 603 babies
- 2025
- 537
- #561 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +44%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 537 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 561 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 43.9% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 603 in 1927. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (52). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 11,616 as a first name in 2020; 1,171 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Mavis’s family of names
In English usage, Mavis has a diminutive in Mamie. Mavis has a related form in Mavas. Mavis has a related form in Mavass.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 14
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Mamiediminutive · English
- Maveshort form
- Mavussevariant
- Mavussvariant
- Mavassvariant
- Mavassevariant
- Mavusvariant
- Mavasvariant
Show 6 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Mavis
- Mavis StaplesAmerican singerborn 1939
- Mavis GallantCanadian writer (1922–2014)
- Mavis BateyBritish cryptoanalyst, diplomat and garden historian (1921-2013)
- Mavis FreemanAmerican swimmer, Olympic bronze medalist (1918–1988)
- Mavis Nkansah BoaduGhanaian politicianborn 1989
- Mavis AdjeiGhanaian actress
- Mavis AkotoGhanaian athleteborn 1978
- Mavis ChiranduZimbabwean association football playerborn 1995
- Mavis HeeSingaporean singer-songwriterborn 1974
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Mavis, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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