Head to head · Girls' names
Mavis vs Miller
#560 vs #571 in 2025 · Old French vs Old English roots
Mavis is a whisker ahead (#560 vs #571 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Mavis is back after a long quiet spell, Miller is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Miller has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Mavis leads 5 measures of 6; Miller leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1890s: Mavis #1097, Miller — — Mavis higher
- 1900s: Mavis #759, Miller — — Mavis higher
- 1910s: Mavis #511, Miller #3777 — Mavis higher
- 1920s: Mavis #278, Miller #4827 — Mavis higher
- 1930s: Mavis #293, Miller #3869 — Mavis higher
- 1940s: Mavis #462, Miller #4416 — Mavis higher
- 1950s: Mavis #733, Miller — — Mavis higher
- 1960s: Mavis #1206, Miller — — Mavis higher
- 1970s: Mavis #2505, Miller — — Mavis higher
- 1980s: Mavis #4634, Miller #9825 — Mavis higher
- 1990s: Mavis #7044, Miller #8394 — Mavis higher
- 2000s: Mavis #8483, Miller #7076 — Miller higher
- 2010s: Mavis #2093, Miller #2863 — Mavis higher
- 2020s: Mavis #666, Miller #1036 — Mavis higher
Mavis stood higher in 13 of 14 decades; Mavis has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mavis | Miller |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | #1097 | — |
| 1900s | #759 | — |
| 1910s | #511 | #3777 |
| 1920s | #278 | #4827 |
| 1930s | #293 | #3869 |
| 1940s | #462 | #4416 |
| 1950s | #733 | — |
| 1960s | #1206 | — |
| 1970s | #2505 | — |
| 1980s | #4634 | #9825 |
| 1990s | #7044 | #8394 |
| 2000s | #8483 | #7076 |
| 2010s | #2093 | #2863 |
| 2020s | #666 | #1036 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Mavis
song thrush
From Middle English mavis, borrowed from Old French mauvis, the name for the thrush — a word English and Scottish poets kept alive long after ordinary speech dropped it.
mauvis (Old French) → mavis (Middle English word for the thrush) → Mavis (English given name)
How it traveled
The word arrived in English from Old French mauvis and settled in as the literary name for the song thrush, appearing in poetry well into the nineteenth century after everyday speech had switched to "thrush". It was already in scattered use as a girl's name when Marie Corelli published The Sorrows of Satan in 1895, giving her heroine the name Mavis Clare; the novel was enormously read and the name spread widely in Britain, then in the United States.
Miller
one who grinds grain — a mill worker
From Middle English millere, from the mill itself (Old English mylen, borrowed from Latin molina).
mylen (Old English, 'mill') → millere (Middle English) → Miller
How it traveled
Miller began as an occupational surname in medieval England and Scotland, given to the man who ran the mill — one of the few pieces of heavy machinery a village possessed, and one of its busiest social centers. It grew into one of the most widespread surnames in the English-speaking world, swelled further in America when German-speaking families arriving in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries translated Müller into its English twin.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Mavis
MAY-viss
Stress on the first syllable. The spelling gives the sound away, so it rarely needs repeating over the phone.
- Mave — The most common short form, informal; occasionally written Maeve, which is a separate Irish name in its own right.
- Mavie — Affectionate diminutive, used within families rather than formally.
- May — Informal shortening from the first syllable; also stands alone as a given name.
Miller
MIL-er
Two syllables, stress on the first, identical to the English word miller. No ambiguity in American English.
- Millie — Informal; also a long-established given name in its own right, and the short form most likely to be reached for if Miller is a girl.
- Mills — Informal, surname-style; common among friends and teammates rather than family.
- Mill — Short and informal, mostly within the family.
- Milly — Spelling variant of Millie, used informally.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Mavis if you want…
- a name most people already know#560 in 2025, 537 babies that year
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 61% for Miller
Choose Miller if you want…
- a name fewer children share#571 in 2025 — miller will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 948 places on the charts in five years
- a name that feels very nowMiller is climbing the charts fast
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Mavis
Strengths
- Spelled exactly as it sounds and short enough to write early — no correction required at the start of every school year.
- An unbroken record on American name lists stretching back to the Victorian era, so it is familiar rather than newly coined.
- A documented word meaning behind it: the song thrush, from Old French through Middle English poetry.
To consider
- Most Mavises alive in the US today are in their eighties and older, so the name still reads as a grandmother's name to many ears. That is precisely what makes it available again, but the association is real for now.
- A child named Mavis will very likely be the only one in her school, which some children enjoy and others do not.
- The meaning is lovely and almost nobody knows it — "mavis" left everyday English long ago, so you will be the one explaining the bird.
Miller
Strengths
- A spelling nearly every American already knows from the surname, so it rarely needs to be repeated or corrected.
- One clear pronunciation, with no competing versions to head off.
- Carries a ready-made short form in Millie, plus the informal Mills.
To consider
- It is a very common last name, so forms, roll calls and email systems will sometimes read it as a surname in the wrong column — and a classmate may well have it as theirs.
- Miller is also a large American beer brand, an association strong enough that adults will occasionally make the joke.
- The name leans to boys without settling there. A girl named Miller will be in the smaller group, and Millie may pull her toward a more traditionally feminine everyday name.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Mavis
30%chance Mavis feels dated by 2040
Mavis is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Miller
61%chance Miller feels dated by 2040
Miller is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Mavis and Miller in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Mavis and Miller?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
Where Mavis and Miller each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mavis or Miller — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mavis or Miller?
- Mavis, in 2025: Mavis ranked #560 with 537 babies; Miller ranked #571 with 528 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mavis or Miller?
- Miller. Over the last five years Mavis moved up 280 places; Miller moved up 948 places.
- Which is the older name, Mavis or Miller?
- Mavis entered the US charts in 1893; Miller entered the US charts in 1915. On the American record, Mavis is the older name.
- How many people are named Mavis and Miller?
- About 11,000 people named Mavis are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 2,700 people named Miller are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Maviss or Millers in the classroom?
- Mavis will almost certainly be the only one in school. Miller will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Mavis, Miller and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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