Avis as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Avis

What is the meaning of the name Avis ?

The baby name Avis is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈeɪvɪs/ (AY-vis).

Avis is Latin in Origin.

Avis blends medieval and classical strands in a crisp, two-syllable form. The name entered Middle English via Old French Avice/Avise, a Norman-era feminine given name of Germanic origin; scholars link it to the short form Ava or to the wider Hedwig family, though the exact root is uncertain. From the 17th century onward, English speakers increasingly associated it with Latin avis, “bird,” a folk etymology that supplied the nature meaning most people recognize today.

In England the name appears frequently in 12th–14th‑century records, then waned before a Victorian revival that favored medieval imports and avian imagery; it enjoyed modest use in Britain and the United States into the early 20th century (famously borne by Jack London’s heroine Avis Everhard). Variants and related forms include Avice, Avise, Avys, and Ava.