Mavis

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 mauvis
Notable persons with the first name Mavis include:
Mavis Adjei, Ghanaian actress
Mavis Doering (1929–2007), Cherokee Nation basket-weaver
Mavis Fan (born 1977), Taiwanese singer
Mavis Freeman (1918–1988, American swimmer who competed in the 1936 Olympic Games
Mavis Gallant (b. 1922), Canadian writer
Mavis Gray née Beckett (b. 1944), Australian sportswoman
Mavis Hee (b. 1974), Singaporean singer
Mavis Hutchinson, first woman to run across the United States
Mavis Jukes (b. 1947), American children's author
Mavis Leno (b. 1956), American feminist and wife of Jay Leno
Mavis Nicholson (b. 1930), Welsh broadcaster
Mavis Pugh (1914–2006), English actress and comedian
Mavis Smitheman, local body councillor for Ardwick, Manchester
Mavis Staples (b. 1939), American rhythm and blues singer
Mavis Taillieu (b. 1952), Canadian politician
Mavis Tate (1893–1947), British Conservative Party politician and feminist
Mavis Taylor (1915–2007), Australian humanitarian
Mavis Villiers, an actress
Mavis Wilson (fl. 1980–90s), Canadian politician
The Mavis's, Australian alternative rock band

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"song thrush," c. 1400, mavys, from Old French mauvis, of unknown origin; related to Spanish malvis. Breton milfid is a French loan word.

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Song thrush, song bird, a small bird.

Popularity	Name	Birth Year	Description
1	Mavis Staples	1939	American singer
2	Mavis Leno	1946	American activist
3	Mavis Wilton
4	Mavis Fan	1977	Taiwanese singer and actress
5	Mavis Pugh	1914	British actress
6	Mavis Beacon
7	Mavis Gallant	1922	Canadian writer
8	Mavis Hee	1974	Singaporean singer-songwriter
9	Mavis Nicholson	1930	British writer and TV broadcaster
10	Mavis Batey	1921	British cryptoanalyst, diplomat and garden historian
11	Mavis Villiers	1911	Australian actress
12	Mavis
13	Mavis Cheek		Writer
14	Mavis Tate	1893	British politician
15	Mavis Amankwah	1974	Businesswoman
16	Mavis Doering	1929	American artist
17	Mavis Adjei		Actress
18	Mavis Jukes	1947	American children's writer
19	Mavis Tchibota	1996
20	Mavis Maclean	1943	British academic specializing in family law
21	Mavis Freeman	1918	American swimmer, Olympic bronze medalist
22	Andrew Mavis	1976	Canadian basketball player
23	Mavis Chloe Rivers	1929	Singer
24	Mavis Taylor	1915	Australian humanitarian
25	Mavis Biesanz	1919	American sociologist
26	Mavis Wilson	1949	Canadian politician
27	Mavis Hutchinson	1924	South African ultramarathon runner
28	Mavis Hawa Koomson	1966	A Ghanaian female politician and educationist
29	Mavis Ama Frimpong
30	Mavis Taillieu	1952	Canadian politician
31	Mavis Kelsey	1912	American physician
32	Bob Mavis	1918	American baseball player
33	Mavis Moyo		Zimbabwean broadcaster
34	Mavis McDonald		British academic and civil servant
35	Mavis Staines	1954	Canadian dancer
36	Mavis Gray		Australian field hockey player
37	Mavis Chirandu	1995
38	Mavis Steele
39	Mavis Acquah	1978	Dutch actor and singer
40	Mavis Sweeney	1909	Hospital Pharmacist
41	Mavis Thorpe Clark	1909	Australian writer
42	Mavis Jones	1922
43	Mavis Doriel Hay	1894	British author of detective fiction and of non-fiction works on handicrafts
44	Mavis Ehlert	1922	British and Canadian sculptor
45	Mavis Macnaughton	1911	Badminton player
46	Mavis Henderson	1910	Badminton player
47	Mavis Kerr	1919	Badminton player
48	Mavis Dgajmah	1973
49	Mavis Laing	1953	American sprinter
50	Mavis Ogun	1973
51	Mavis Horsburgh	1910	Badminton player
52	Mavis Danso	1984
53	Mavis Djangmah	1973