Derived from an old diminutive of MARTIN. MAXWELL Scottish. From a place name meaning Mack's stream, from the name Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name MAGNUS, combined with Old English wella stream ...
For the ray-finned fish known as common dolphin, see Mahi-mahi. The common dolphin is the name given to two species (and possibly a third) of dolphin making up the genus Delphinus. Prior to the mid-1990s, most taxonomists only recognised one species in this genus, the common dolphin Delphinus delphis.
(dÅlâ²fÄ­n, dÃ´lâ²-) n. pl. dolphin or dolÂ·phins. 1. a. Any of various marine toothed whales of the family Delphinidae, having a beaklike snout, a curved dorsal fin, and a slender streamlined body.