Mavis

/ˈmeɪvɪs/

//ˈmeɪvɪs// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"mavis" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Mavis” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,186. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,186
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A female given name from English.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mavis · Mavis · English

Mavis · rank #34,186 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,186
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mauritania

Nearest frequency peer: Mauritania (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Mavis”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Mavis” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Mavis vs maxi
40% similar
Mavis vs Mays
60% similar
Mavis vs movie
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Mavis
PropertyValue
HeadwordMavis
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈmeɪvɪs/
Letters5
Frequency rank#34,186
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Mavis”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Mavislands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Mauritania” (#34,185), “McHugh” (#34,187), “Mattel” (#34,184). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “Mavis” is #34,186. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around Mavis (IPA /ˈmeɪvɪs/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #34,186 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A female given name from English.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for Mavis, with forms such as "amvis", "maivs", and "maviss". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "maxi", "Mays", "movie", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Coined at the end of the 19th century from mavis, a poetical name for the song thrush. The correct English form is Mavis, spelled M-A-V-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A female given name from English.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how Mavis appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "Rather an odd name, Mavis, isn't it?" I at last ventured to observe. "Yes, - but it suits her wonderfully. She sings quite as sweetly as any thrush, so she merits her designation."

Etymology

Coined at the end of the 19th century from mavis, a poetical name for the song thrush.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amvis
  • maivs
  • maviss
  • mavsi
  • mavvis
  • mmavis
  • mvais

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Mavis - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

amvis2maivs2maviss1mavsi2mavvis1mmavis1mvais2
Edit distance from "Mavis"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Mavis"?
"Mavis" is spelled M-A-V-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmeɪvɪs/.
What does "Mavis" mean?
As a proper noun, "Mavis" means: A female given name from English.
What words are commonly confused with "Mavis"?
"Mavis" is commonly confused with "maxi", "Mays", "movie". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Mavis"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Mavis" is /ˈmeɪvɪs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Mavis"?
Coined at the end of the 19th century from mavis, a poetical name for the song thrush. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Mavis", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Mikel#34,196Magee#34,175madge#34,174Nieto#34,206

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Mattel7 variantsLomax7 variantsIrvin7 variantsSadiq7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list