Alvis is an anglicized spelling of Alvíss, the name of a dwarf in Norse mythology. He was supposed to marry Thrud, the daughter of the Norse god Thor. However, Thor wasn’t too pleased with the arrangement so he came up with a trick requiring the dwarf to prove his wisdom by continually asking him questions until sunrise, when the sun turned Alvíss into stone. The name means “all wise”.
Alvis is also a surname, either derived as a variant of Alvin, an English male which is either a variant of Ælfwine (meaning “elf friend”), Æðelwine (“noble friend”) or Ealdwine (“old friend”); or it could be a variant spelling of Alves, a Portuguese surname, a variant of Alvares, a patronymic form of Álvaro, a name of uncertain origin and meaning though it could be derived from a Visigothic name meaning “all noble”; though it’s also possible that it’s the Spanish form of a Germanic name, Alfher, meaning “elf warrior” or “elf army” from Old Norse elements alfr (elf) and arr (warrior) or herr (army).
Origin: Proto-Indo-European
Variants:
- Alvíss (Old Norse)
- Alviss (English)
- Elvis (English)
