Mavis
Torn between Mavis and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
the song thrush (Old French mauvis); first used as a given name by Marie Corelli in 1895
The story
Mavis is the bird: the English word for the song thrush, from the Old French mauvis, of uncertain origin, and Behind the Name records exactly where it became a name, in Marie Corelli's 1895 novel The Sorrows of Satan, which gave it to a character. The American record then runs a full century-cycle: about 1,700 girls in the 1910s, about 5,500 in the 1920s, a long slide to about 128 in the 2000s, then the turn, about 2,100 in the 2010s and about 2,700 so far this decade, already past the whole 2010s total and past every completed decade except the 1920s and 1930s. A name a novelist first set on a character, named for a singing bird, that sang, went quiet for half a century, and is singing again.
How popular is Mavis around the world?
In the United States, 2,704 babies were named Mavis between 2020 and 2025. In Canada, 64 girls named Mavis were born in 2024, the 460th most common name among girls that year.
Mavis is on the official records of the United States, Canada, England and Wales, South Australia, Chile, Mexico City, Austria, Argentina, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 8,100
In the United States, 2,704 babies were named Mavis between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Mavis peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 5,700
In Canada, 64 girls named Mavis were born in 2024, the 460th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 12,000
In England and Wales, 48 girls named Mavis were born in 2025, the 763rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Mavis in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Chile
1 in 30,000
In Chile, 6 girls were registered as Mavis in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Mexico City City
1 in 39,000
In Mexico City, there were 3 registrations of Mavis in 2022.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Mavis was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Argentina
1 in 130,000
In Argentina, 5 newborns were given the name Mavis in 2024.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 490,000
In Spain, 92 residents are named Mavis, ranked 8,352nd among women, with a mean age of 52.1 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 86 people in Brazil were named Mavis, ranked 45,833rd, with a median age of 6.
Among people named Mavis living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 25 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
New Zealand
last on record 1971
Mavis is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
last on record 2022
Mavis is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico, Ireland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Mavis
People given the name Mavis in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 2025. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Mavis deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Mavis truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Mavis fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Mavis fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Mavis to your family’s tree →