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Girl · English, from Hebrew and Latin sources
Mae
Say it: MAY
Meaning
A variant spelling of May, a pet form of Mary or Margaret also associated with the month of May.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Widely used in America from the late 1800s, very often as a middle name.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1890s
In the United States
- 112,412 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1895, about 1 in 196 girls
- 504 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: May
Famous bearers
- Mae West, American actress
- Mae Jemison, American astronaut
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.