Mayvis
A feminine variant of the name Mavis, derived from the French plant name for the sweet scented maidenhair fern.
Name Census estimates that about 175 living Americans carry the first name Mayvis. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mayvis today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mayvis births was 2017 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mayvis. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
175
~ 1 in 1,958,596 Americans
Peak year
2017
19 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,536
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Mayvis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mayvis from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 96 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mayvis by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Mayvis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mayvis' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mayvis
The name Mayvis has its origins in the Old English language and can be traced back to the 9th century. It is a combination of the words "mae" meaning "maiden" and "vis" meaning "wise" or "prudent." The name was popular among the Anglo-Saxons and was often given to young girls who were considered wise beyond their years or possessed a mature and thoughtful demeanor.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Mayvis can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which documents the history of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain from the late 9th century. In this chronicle, there is a reference to a woman named Mayvis who was a respected advisor to King Alfred the Great (849-899).
During the Middle Ages, the name Mayvis gained popularity among the noble classes and was often associated with women of intelligence and virtue. One notable example is Mayvis de Courtenay (1204-1257), a French noblewoman and the daughter of Peter II of Courtenay and Yolanda of Flanders. She was renowned for her wisdom and piety and played a significant role in the politics of the time.
In the 16th century, the name Mayvis was popularized by the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400), who featured a character named Mayvis in his famous work, "The Canterbury Tales." This literary reference helped to solidify the name's association with intelligence and wit.
Another notable figure with the name Mayvis was Mayvis Enders (1884-1967), an American mathematician and astronomer. She made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and was a pioneer in the study of comets and asteroids.
Throughout history, several other women have borne the name Mayvis, including Mayvis Duarte (1510-1558), a Portuguese noblewoman and poet; Mayvis Becker (1904-1998), a German-American actress and singer; and Mayvis Vermeer (1890-1962), a Dutch painter known for her portraiture and still-life works.
While the name Mayvis is not as common today as it once was, it remains a unique and historically significant name that evokes connotations of wisdom, intelligence, and virtue.
People
Mayvis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mayvis as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mayvis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mayvis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 175 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mayvis going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,958,596 US residents.
Is Mayvis a common name?
We classify Mayvis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 218 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mayvis most popular?
The single biggest year for Mayvis was 2017, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mayvis is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Mayvis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mayvis a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mayvis in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Mayvis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mayvis in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Mayvis can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Mayvis?
You can see how many people share the name Mayvis on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.