Mayberry is a fictional community that was the setting for two popular American television sitcoms, The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968) and Mayberry R.F.D. (1968–1971); Mayberry was also the setting for a 1986 reunion television film titled Return to Mayberry. The town is also frequently mentioned in the spin-off program Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., and is seen when Pyle returns to visit his home town. Mayberry is said to be based on Andy Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina. Mount Airy is also known as Mayberry and called by both names by its residents.

The name "Mayberry"

According to show episodes, the community of Mayberry was named for fictional founder John Mayberry. In the 1964 episode “The Pageant,” Mayberry celebrates its centennial, implying its founding was in 1864. Purportedly, Andy Griffith himself chose the name of the fictional community. Griffith, however, told Larry King in 2003 that Artie Stander is the person who thought of the name Mayberry; Stander was one of the show's creators and writers.

"Mayberry" is mentioned many times in television shows such as Cheers, House, Criminal Minds, Supernatural, How I Met Your Mother, FROM, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Scrubs. According to the episode "The Battle of Mayberry," the town was almost named Taylortown in honor of Colonel Carleton Taylor, who was one of the first settlers in the town.

Specific features

Mayberry had one traffic light and little in the way of indigenous crime with the exception perhaps of moonshining and bootlegging. Speeding was also mentioned in the area, like that on Highway 6 in the fourth season episode "Barney's Sidecar." Out-of-town bank robbers, scam artists, escaped convicts, and vagrants occasionally found their way to Mayberry. The county and the town share the same name and jurisdiction. In episode 44 "Sheriff Barney," the mayor of nearby Greendale relates that Mayberry County has had the lowest crime rate in the state for two years in a row under Sheriff Taylor. The town only had one long-distance telephone line, as referenced in the episode "Man in a Hurry," that two old ladies shared each Sunday preventing others from using the telephone.

In the opening scene of season 8, episode 30 (the last episode), a sign at the railroad station lists the population and elevation of Mayberry:

:Population: 5,360

:Elevation: 671

However, this conflicts with the comment made by choir director John Masters to Andy Taylor, that "there's got to be a decent tenor in a town of two-thousand people" in the episode The Song Festers – season 4, episode 20. And, in season 7, episode 23 ("The Statue"), Howard Sprague refers to a population of 1,800.

Because the county and the town both have the same name, it's possible that the county's population is 5,360 and the town's is somewhere between 1,800 and 2,000.

Mayberrites

thumb|180px|Andy does his part for the Mayberry town band. Barney and Gomer are not sure he's helping the cause.

  • Nettie Albright (Alberta Nelson), classmate who had a crush on Barney
  • Amanda (Janet Waldo), local prospect Barney selected to be Andy's future wife
  • Big Jack Anderson (Nestor Paiva), area moonshiner who ran a still in the Rimshaw House
  • Teena Andrews (Diahn Williams), local citizen named Irene Phlogg who went on to become a famous movie star
  • Ramona Ankrum (Jackie Joseph), quiet young woman from the family that owns the Ancrum Charcoal Company and love interest of Ernest T. Bass
  • Arnold Bailey (Sheldon Collins), friend of Opie
  • Dr. Lou Bailey (James McCallion), father of Arnold Bailey
  • Barbara Sue (Gail Lucas), local citizen who wants to win "The Beauty Contest"
  • Ralph Barton (Charles Lampkin), friend of Sam Jones (RFD)
  • Ernest T. Bass (Howard Morris), bothersome troublemaker who is fond of throwing rocks through windows
  • Charlie Beasley (Ray Lanier), local citizen with attractive muscles
  • Juanita Beasley, never seen waitress at the Bluebird Diner who flirts with Barney over the phone (originally the character named Juanita was portrayed as the Mayor's daughter in season one)
  • Sam Becker (William Schallert), farmer and Korea War veteran who Barney suspects of growing marijuana
  • Tom Bedlow (Sam Edwards), local citizen who tried out for the barbershop quartet
  • Mrs. Beggs (Virginia Sale), local citizen
  • Dr. Bennett (George Selk), physician
  • Henry Bennett (John Qualen), local citizen accused by Barney of being a jinx
  • Billy (Tim Stevenson, John Reilly) friend of Opie
  • Erma Bishop (Lillian Bronson) crowned Miss Mayberry in beauty contest for her kind and helpful nature
  • Leonard Blush (Howard Morris), never seen local celebrity and former pupil of voice teacher Eleanora Poultice; "The Voice of Mount Pilot" on Mount Pilot radio station WMPD
  • Fred Boone (Jesse White), local citizen who loves bickering with his wife
  • Jennie Boone (Claudia Bryar), wife of Fred Boone
  • Trey Bowden (David Alan Bailey), friend of Opie
  • Nate Bracey (Frank Behrens), former classmate of Andy and Barney who attended the "Class Reunion"
  • Emma Brand-Watson (Cheerio Meredith), serial jaywalker and hypochondriac
  • Asa Breeney (Charles P. Thompson), security guard
  • George Bricker (Doodles Weaver), postman
  • Ellen Brown (Barbara Eden), manicurist who came to Mayberry in search of a friendly town
  • Karen Burgess (Ronda Jeter), Opie's classmate and girlfriend
  • Otis Campbell (Hal Smith), town drunk and descendant of a Revolutionary War hero
  • Rita Campbell (Dorothy Neumann), wife of Otis Campbell
  • Ella Carson (Ruth Thom), local citizen seen in three episodes
  • Mary Alice Carter (Morgan Brittany), Opie's first love
  • Emmett Clark (Paul Hartman), fix-it shop owner
  • Martha Clark (Mary Lansing), wife of Emmett Clark
  • Miss Clark (Luana Anders), local citizen seen in two episodes
  • Flip Conroy (Rockne Tarkington), football coach at Opie's school
  • The Country Boys (Billy Ray Latham on banjo, Leroy Mack and Clarence White on guitar, Eric White on bass, and Roland White on mandolin), five member bluegrass band (The Country Boys are a real-life band who appear in two episodes)
  • Mr. Crawford (Robert F. Simon), pharmacist
  • Billy Crenshaw (Johnny Bangert), Opie's rival for a delivery boy job
  • Glen Cripe (Delos Jewkes), bass singer in the Mayberry town choir
  • Lydia Crosswaith (Josie Lloyd), romantic interest of Goober Pyle
  • Art Crowley (Frank Warren), grocer
  • Old Man Crowley (Burt Mustin), local citizen
  • Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut), Kansas transplant, Opie's teacher, and Andy's girlfriend (later appearing as his wife in Mayberry R.F.D.)
  • The Darlings (Denver Pyle as Briscoe Darling Jr., Maggie Peterson as Charlene Darling, and The Dillards as the Darling Boys), hillbilly family that plays bluegrass music with Andy in several episodes
  • Sharon DeSpain (Peggy McCay), Andy's high school flame who returned to Mayberry for the "Class Reunion"
  • Fletch Dilbeck (Jon Lormer), local farmer who sells crops from the bed of his Chevrolet truck
  • Mr. Doakes (Norris Goff), grocer
  • Clara Edwards (Hope Summers), Aunt Bee's best friend (also called Clara Johnson or Bertha Edwards in early episodes)
  • Ella (Ann Morgan Guilbert), resident who writes a society column for The Mayberry Gazette
  • Elmo (Vince Barnett), local citizen
  • Warren Ferguson (Jack Burns), Boston transplant and replacement deputy even more inept than Fife
  • Barney Fife (Don Knotts), Andy's lifelong friend (originally portrayed as his cousin in the pilot episode and through the first season) and deputy sheriff; later a detective with the Raleigh, North Carolina Police Department
  • Judd Fletcher (Burt Mustin), elderly local citizen
  • Charles 'Charley' Foley (Stanley Farrar, Frank Ferguson), proprietor of Foley's Grocery
  • Jubal Foster (Everett Sloane), local farmer and moonshiner
  • Mrs. Foster (Irene Tedrow), neighbor of the Taylor family whose chicken a-la-king tasted like "wallpaper paste"
  • Mr. Frisby (Charles Lane), local farmer and egg man
  • The Fun Girls (Joyce Jameson as Skippy and Jean Carson as Daphne), Andy and Barney's dates
  • Fred Goss (Fred Sherman), runs Mayberry's dry cleaning establishment
  • Billy Gray (Kim Tyler), friend of Opie
  • Sue Grigsby (Vici Raaf), wife of Harold Grigsby
  • Mr. Hampton (Leon Ames), principal at Mayberry Union High School
  • Ralph Hanes (Don Haggerty), former classmate of Barney and Andy's who attended the "Class Reunion"
  • Harold Grigsby (Kelly Thordsen), saw mill owner
  • Harvey (Anthony Jochim), local citizen seen in two episodes
  • Evan Hendricks (Bobby Diamond), wild-driving son of Orville, known to break an egg or two
  • Orville Hendricks (Woodrow Chambliss), butter and egg man from Mount Pilot
  • Hilda Mae (Florence MacMichael), Barney's girlfriend in season one (replaced by Thelma Lou)
  • George Hollander (Sandy Kenyon), high school history teacher
  • Martha Hollister (Kay Stewart), wife of Rafe Hollister
  • Rafe Hollister (Jack Prince), local farmer and moonshiner
  • Cy Hudgins (Forrest Lewis), local farmer who owns a goat named Jimmy that eats almost anything
  • Millie Hutchins (Arlene Golonka), girlfriend of Sam Jones
  • Jason (Phil Chambers), clerk at the Mayberry Hotel
  • Johnny Paul Jason (Richard Keith), best friend of Opie; nephew of Charley Foley
  • Joe (Rob Reiner), printer's apprentice
  • Mike Jones (Buddy Foster), son of Sam Jones (RFD)
  • Sam Jones (Ken Berry), farmer, single parent, and widower (like Andy); head of the Mayberry town council in Mayberry R.F.D.
  • Tillie Kincaid (Maxine Semon), friend of Clara Edwards and Aunt Bee
  • Edna Larch (Maudie Prickett), local citizen seen in four episodes
  • Floyd Lawson (Howard McNear), barber at Floyd's Barber Shop; father of Norman and Randall Lawson
  • Leon (Clint Howard), toddler in a cowboy outfit who wanders the streets of Mayberry
  • Clara Lindsey (Mary Treen), wife of Sam Lindsey
  • Jim Lindsey (James Best), talented guitarist who joins Bobby Fleet and His Band with a Beat
  • Sam Lindsey (Frank Ferguson), husband of Clara Lindsey
  • Flora Malherbe (Alberta Nelson), waitress at the Mayberry Diner; becomes Goober's girlfriend
  • John Masters (Olan Soule), hotel clerk and director of the town's singing choir
  • Mr. McBeevee (Karl Swenson), lineman, who according to Opie, walks in the trees, wears a silver hat, jingles when he walks, and has twelve extra hands
  • Peggy McMillan (Joanna Moore), nurse and Andy's girlfriend
  • Mr. Meldrim (Warren Parker), president of Mayberry Security Bank
  • Mrs. Mendelbright (Enid Markey), Barney's landlady
  • Merle (Sherwood Keith), town councilman
  • Malcolm Merriweather (Bernard Fox), English valet
  • Bert Miller (Sterling Holloway), peddler
  • Orville Monroe (Jonathan Hole), undertaker and TV repairman
  • Jimmy Morgan (Pat Colby), mechanic at Wally's accused of being a thief
  • Morrison Sisters (Gladys Hurlbut as Clarabelle Morrison and Charity Grace as Jennifer Morrison), moonshiners who runs the local flower shop
  • Sam Muggins (Sam Edwards), moonshiner accused of stealing business from the department store, incarcerated at the Mayberry Jail on Christmas Eve with his family (Margaret Kerry as wife, Bess; Joy Ellison as daughter, Effie; and Kelly Flynn as Billy Muggins)
  • Frank Myers (Andy Clyde), elderly resident evicted for not paying taxes
  • Mavis Neff (Elaine Joyce), employee at Walker's Drugstore who went on a date with Andy
  • Charlie O'Malley (Willis Bouchey), wealthy resident who also owns a cabin outside of town
  • Mrs. Pendleton (Ruth McDevitt), head of the Mayberry school board and good friend of Martha Clark and Aunt Bee
  • Pete (George Dunn), local citizen frequently seen in Floyd's Barbershop
  • Burly Peters (Thom Carney), local citizen and drummer in the Mayberry Band
  • Dr. Thomas Peterson (William Christopher), physician who replaced the retiring Dr. Bennett
  • Whitey Porter (Joey Scott), friend of Opie
  • Josephine Pike (Josie Lloyd), daughter of Mayor Pike
  • Mayor Pike (Dick Elliott) mayor in the first two seasons (1960–61)
  • Whitey Porter (Joey Scott), friend of Opie
  • Howie Pruitt (Dennis Rush), good friend of Opie
  • Jeff Pruitt (Alan Hale), farmer who came to Mayberry to find a wife
  • Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors), service station attendant at Wally's Filling Station for three seasons (1962–64) (left Mayberry to join the Marine Corps in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.)
  • Goober Pyle (George Lindsey), auto mechanic at Wally's Garage and Filling Station (later service station owner)
  • Dr. Roberts (Charles P. Thompson), local physician
  • Mrs. Rodenbach (Mary Lansing), local citizen seen in three episodes
  • Rose (Mary Treen), Andy's housekeeper who got married and moved away, replaced by Aunt Bee
  • Rosemary (Rachel Ames), local prospect Barney selected to be Andy's future wife
  • Sam (Sherwood Keith), local citizen often seen in Floyd's Barber Shop
  • Sandy (Sherman Sanders), square dance caller
  • Sarah, often spoken to, but never seen, telephone operator
  • Ed Sawyer (William Lanteau), mysterious stranger who moves to Mayberry and disrupts the lives of the townspeople because he appears to know startling facts about them
  • Mr. Schwamp, (portrayed by unknown) local citizen seen in at least 26 episodes of The Andy Griffith Show; also appeared in Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. and Mayberry R.F.D.
  • Ben Sewell (Jack Prince), moonshiner who was ratted out by the Morrison sisters
  • Sharon (Barbara Griffith), part of the Mayberry choir (portrayed by Andy Griffith's real life wife, Barbara Edwards)
  • Sheldon (Terry Dickinson), local bully who extorts Opie for his milk money
  • Annabelle Silby (Lurene Tuttle), local do-gooder and wife of Tom Silby
  • Tom Silby (Stuart Erwin), local citizen who returns to town after being declared dead
  • Mr. Simmons (Richard Collier), proprietor of company called Simmons Seeds
  • Minnie 'Mary' Simpson (Julie Adams, Sue Ane Langdon), county nurse
  • Rube Sloane (Thom Carney), moonshiner who was ratted out by the Morrison sisters
  • Howard Sprague (Jack Dodson), county clerk
  • Mrs. Sprague (Mabel Albertson), overbearing mother of Howard Sprague
  • Fred Stevens (Pat Coghlan), owner of Sterling Jewelry Store
  • Roy Stoner (Parley Baer), mayor of Mayberry for three seasons (1962–64), replacing Mayor Pike
  • Henrietta Swanson (Elvia Allman), local citizen whose daughter, Darlene, wants to enter "The Beauty Contest"
  • Millie Swanson (Arlene Golonka), bakery clerk and girlfriend of Sam Jones (RFD)
  • Billy Ray Talbot (Dub Taylor), postmaster
  • Cyrus Tankersley (George Cisar), local citizen
  • Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith), sheriff and widowed father
  • Beatrice Taylor (Frances Bavier), Andy's aunt and housekeeper, known as Aunt Bee
  • Opie Taylor (Ronny Howard), son of Andy
  • Thelma Lou (Betty Lynn), Barney's sweetheart
  • Farley Thurston (Lyle Latell), butter and egg man
  • Tommy (Dennis Holmes), friend of Opie
  • Rev. Hobart M. Tucker (William Keene), Pastor of the All Souls Church
  • Myra Tucker (Amzie Strickland), local citizen seen in two episodes
  • Farley Upchurch (Frank Cady, Clinton Sundberg), local citizen seen in two episodes
  • Ellie Walker (Elinor Donahue), pharmacist and one-time love interest of Andy