Mavis
Encyclopedia
Mavis is a female name. Its usage was initiated by Marie Corelli
's 1895 novel The Sorrows of Satan
1 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
' 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 in between the 1920s and 1940s since when its usage has decline with the name being rather unfashionable since the 1960s.
Notable persons with the first name Mavis include:
Notable fictional characters with the first name Mavis include:
Marie Corelli
Marie Corelli was a British novelist. She enjoyed a period of great literary success from the publication of her first novel in 1886 until World War I. Corelli's novels sold more copies than the combined sales of popular contemporaries, including Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G...
's 1895 novel The Sorrows of Satan
The Sorrows of Satan
The Sorrows of Satan is an 1895 faustian novel by Marie Corelli. It is widely regarded as one of the world's first bestsellers, partly due to an upheaval in the system British libraries used to purchase their books and partly due to its popular appeal...
1 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
Song Thrush
The Song Thrush is a thrush that breeds across much of Eurasia. It is also known in English dialects as throstle or mavis. It has brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies...
and was long obsolete by the 19th century but known from its poetic use as in Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
' 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
Charles Jefferys
Charles Jefferys was an English music publisher and composer of songs.Jefferys carried on a London music publishing business. In 1854 he won a legal action with Thomas Boosey, respecting copyright in Italian operas, after appeal to the House of Lords...
features the line: "I have heard the mavis singing its love-song to the morn."
Mavis had its height of popularity in between the 1920s and 1940s since when its usage has decline with the name being rather unfashionable since the 1960s.
- 1The British politician Mavis TateMavis TateMavis Constance Tate , was a British Conservative politician and campaigner for British women's rights.-Life:...
was born in 1893 but only assumed the first name "Mavis" as an adult, her actual first name of birth being Maybird.
- 2
Notable persons with the first name Mavis include:
- Mavis AdjeiMavis AdjeiMavis Adjei is a Ghanaian actress currently based in The Netherlands.Adjei hails from the diamond town of Akwatia in the Eastern Region of Ghana...
, Ghanaian actress - Mavis DoeringMavis Doering-Background:Doering was born in Hominy, Oklahoma and was the third generation of a family of basketmakers. She was mostly self-taught. Beginning in the 1970s, she researched weaving techniques from books in libraries and museums.-Art:...
(1929–2007), Cherokee NationCherokee NationThe Cherokee Nation is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It was established in the 20th century, and includes people descended from members of the old Cherokee Nation who relocated voluntarily from the Southeast to Indian Territory and Cherokees who...
basketweaver - Mavis FanMavis FanMavis Fan is Taiwanese pop singer who also plays flute and piano. She's also known as 'Bo Bo' or 'Little Witch'.Mavis began her singing career in the mid 90s as a pop idol, singing songs catered mostly towards children and young teenagers. For example, the lyrics to 'Health Song' encouraged daily...
(b. 1977), Taiwanese singer - Mavis FreemanMavis FreemanMavis Ann Freeman was an American swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.In the 1936 Olympics Freeman won a bronze medal in the 4x100 m freestyle relay event.-External links:*...
(1918–1988, American swimmer who competed in the 1936 Olympic Games - Mavis GallantMavis GallantMavis Leslie Gallant, , née Mavis Leslie Young is a Canadian writer.-Biography:An only child, Gallant was born in Montreal, Quebec. Her father died when she was young, and her mother remarried. Gallant received her education at seventeen different public, convent, and French-language boarding...
(b. 1922), Canadian writer - Mavis GrayMavis GrayMavis Gray is a former Western Australian field hockey player. She was born in Bunbury, Western Australia on 12 February 1944 and represented Australia and Western Australia in a comparatively long career....
née Beckett (b. 1944), Australian sportswoman - Mavis HeeMavis HeeMavis Hee is a Singaporean singer.She was the second runner-up and also Miss Photogenic and Miss Amity for Singapore's Miss Chinatown Pageant 1992.-Her work:...
(b. 1974), Singaporean singer - Mavis HutchinsonMavis HutchinsonMavis Hutchison is a South African athlete.Her career began as a race walker, and her first record was in the 50-mile Rand Daily Mail Big Walk in 1963...
, first woman to run across the United States - Mavis JukesMavis JukesMavis Jukes , is an American author of novels for children. She has also published nonfiction books for children and pre-teens about puberty. Her books are usually health-based....
(b. 1947), American childrens author - Mavis LenoMavis LenoMavis Elizabeth Nicholson Leno is an American philanthropist, feminist and the wife of talk show host Jay Leno...
(b. 1956), American feminist and wife of Jay Leno - Mavis NicholsonMavis NicholsonMavis Nicholson is a British writer and TV broadcaster.She was born Mavis Mainwaring and spent her childhood in Briton Ferry. She became a student at Swansea University...
(b. 1930), Welsh broadcaster - Mavis PughMavis PughMavis Gladys Fox Pugh was an English actress who made many appearances as mainly upper-class ladies in several British sitcoms including Dad's Army, Are You Being Served? and Fawlty Towers, as well as having a regular role in You Rang, M'Lord?...
(1914–2006), British actress and comedian - Mavis Smitheman, local body councillor for Ardwick, Manchester
- Mavis StaplesMavis StaplesMavis Staples is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist who recorded with The Staple Singers, her family's band.-Biography:...
(b. 1939), American rhythm and blues singer - Mavis TaillieuMavis TaillieuMavis Taillieu is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She is currently a member of the Manitoba legislature, representing the opposition Progressive Conservative Party and is the critic of Labor and Immigration....
(b. 1952), Canadian politician - Mavis TateMavis TateMavis Constance Tate , was a British Conservative politician and campaigner for British women's rights.-Life:...
(1893–1947), British Conservative Party politician and feminist - Mavis TaylorMavis TaylorMavis Taylor was an Australian who was named an Australian Living Treasure for her humanitarian work for the people of East Timor in her later years.-Life:Mrs Taylor was born in Richmond, Tasmania in 1915....
(1915–2007), Australian humanitarian - Mavis VilliersMavis VilliersMavis Villiers, born Mavis Clare Cooney , was a British actress of stage, film and television. Her brother was Cecil Cooney, a camera operator and cinematographer. Her stage name, Villiers, was taken from her maternal grandfather...
, an actress - Mavis WilsonMavis WilsonMavis Wilson is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1990, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson....
(fl.FloruitFloruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1980-90s), Canadian politician - The Mavis'sThe Mavis'sThe Mavis's were an Australian pop band from Ballarat, Victoria. The band was composed of Matt Thomas , his sister Becky Thomas , Nick Gill , Andrea Vendy , and Josh Alexander . They are best known for their 1998 synth-driven single "Cry", which appeared on the Triple J Hottest 100 for 1998...
, Australian alternative rock band
Notable fictional characters with the first name Mavis include:
- Mavis, a diesel locomotive character from The Railway Series books by the Rev. W. Awdry
- Mavis, a character from the BBC comedy Open All HoursOpen All HoursOpen All Hours is a BBC sitcom written by Roy Clarke which ran for four series a first run in 1976, a second run in 1981, third in 1982 and finally with a fourth run in 1985, with a pilot episode from the Seven of One series in 1973...
- Mavis Anderson, secondary character in Dallas (TV series)Dallas (TV series)Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
, best friend to Miss Ellie - Mavis BeaconMavis BeaconMavis Beacon is a fictional female African-American character created for the Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing software.- History :Developed to be a anthropomorphic representation of a Software Toolworks instructional typing program, Mavis Beacon debuted as simply a photo of a model on the software's...
, typing instructor - Mavis Bramston, from The Mavis Bramston ShowThe Mavis Bramston ShowThe Mavis Bramston Show was a popular and award-winning Australian TV satirical sketch comedy series of the mid-1960s.-Introduction:The tremendous impact that The Mavis Bramston Show had in Australia in the mid-1960s was heightened because of its unique place in the history of the Australian TV...
(1964–1968), Australian TV satire - Mavis Buckey, anthropomorphic animal character from Funny Farm (webscomic) series
- Mavis Clare, a popular author who resists the temptation of the Devil in The Sorrows of SatanThe Sorrows of SatanThe Sorrows of Satan is an 1895 faustian novel by Marie Corelli. It is widely regarded as one of the world's first bestsellers, partly due to an upheaval in the system British libraries used to purchase their books and partly due to its popular appeal...
by Marie CorelliMarie CorelliMarie Corelli was a British novelist. She enjoyed a period of great literary success from the publication of her first novel in 1886 until World War I. Corelli's novels sold more copies than the combined sales of popular contemporaries, including Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G... - Mavis Cruet, an obese young fairyFairyA fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
incapable of flight, from the British children's animated series Willo the WispWillo the WispWillo the Wisp is a British cartoon series originally produced in 1981.-First series :In the first series, Kenneth Williams provided voices for all of the characters, which included these main characters:...
(1981/2005) - Mavis Davis, a pseudonymous singer in the British comedy film Bring Me the Head of Mavis DavisBring Me the Head of Mavis DavisBring Me the Head of Mavis Davis is a British comedy film directed by John Henderson, originally released in 1997.-Plot:The film stars Rik Mayall as a rock manager who recruits Jane Horrocks...
(1997) - Mavis DeVere, one version of the actual name of Bubbles DeVereBubbles DeVereDenise or Mavis DeVere is a fictional character in the second and third series of the BBC television sketch show Little Britain and its US spin-off. She is played by Matt Lucas.-Personality:...
, a character in the BBC comedy series Little BritainLittle BritainLittle Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas... - Mavis Freestone, a singer, from the In Death series of detective novels
- Mavis Madling, a character in the situation comedy series Designing Women
- Mavis Ming, title character in Michael MoorcockMichael MoorcockMichael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
's The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming, one of his Dancers at the End of Time series of novels - Mavis Munro, office manager in the comic book series: Supernatural LawSupernatural LawSupernatural Law, previously known as Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre, is a comic strip, comic book and web comic series written and illustrated by Batton Lash...
and Supernatural Law Secretary Mavis - Mavis Neff, a girlfriend of Andy Griffith in The Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
- Mavis Rae, main character in the situation comedy WhoopiWhoopiWhoopi is an American situation comedy, starring Whoopi Goldberg. The series revolved around the events and people at her hotel, the Lamont Hotel, in New York City...
- Mavis Pike, character in the British situation comedy Dad's Army
- Mavis Wartella-Depew, an elementary school student in Rockett's New SchoolRockett's New SchoolRockett's New School is a visual novel video game that was developed and published by Purple Moon and released in 1997. It is the first game in the Rockett series by release order, which is set approximately one year after the Secret Paths series and one year before The Starfire Soccer Challenge,...
, a video game - Mavis WiltonMavis WiltonMavis Wilton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Thelma Barlow. A long-running series regular, Mavis appeared in the show for 26 years from 1971 to 1997...
, a character in Coronation Street - Mavis (DC Comics)Mavis (DC Comics)Mavis is the name of two fictional characters who first appeared in the DC Comics' universe. In the Golden Age Wonder Woman series, the first character served as a Nazi provocateur...
, two fictional characters who first appeared in the DC Comics universe - Mavis (The Apprentice), a controversial personification of viewers of daytime shopping television, made by Katie Hopkins of The Apprentice series 3. Mavis is said to have had an ample bosom and to be single and lonely, among other things.
- Dark Mavis, recurring character in British band MansunMansunMansun were an English alternative rock band formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rathbone. The band broke up in May 2003....
's debut album Attack Of The Grey LanternAttack of the Grey LanternAttack of the Grey Lantern is the debut album by English rock band Mansun released in February 1997 via Parlophone. The album spent a total of 19 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number one.-Background:...