Mavis

Where Mavis comes from

Coined at the end of the 19th century from mavis, a poetical name for the song thrush.
— Wiktionary's entry for Mavis
  • English
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1893
    First appearance
    #1,437 among girls, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1922
    Mavis Gallant born
    Canadian writer
  3. 1927
    Peak, #270
    603 babies named Mavis — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1939
    Mavis Staples born
    American singer
  5. 1942
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #425.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from English.
Namesakes
  • Mavis Staples · American singer, born 1939
  • Mavis Gallant · Canadian writer, 1922–2014
  • Mavis Batey · British cryptoanalyst, diplomat and garden historian, 1921–2013
  • Mavis Freeman · American swimmer, Olympic bronze medalist, 1918–1988
  • Mavis Nkansah Boadu · Ghanaian politician, born 1989

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.