Given name & surname
Mae
Mae is used as a given name and a surname. A separate literal meaning is not established; there is a possible relationship with May. The derivation remains uncertain.
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Mae is a variant of May. An origin associated with May is Latin.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English use, Mae may be used as a spelling variant of May. This connection is uncertain.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mae through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 115,441
- 606 boys · 114,835 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 2,769 babies
- 2025
- 594
- #501 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +15%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 594 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 501 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 14.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 2,756 in 1918. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (44). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 25,052 as a first name in 2020; 867 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Mae’s family of names
In English usage, Mae has a diminutive in Willie. In English usage, Mae has a related form in Mai. Mae has a related form in May.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Mae
- Mae WestAmerican actress, singer, screenwriter, and writer (1893–1980)
- Mae JemisonAmerican doctor and NASA astronautborn 1956
- Mae WhitmanAmerican actressborn 1988
- Mae MarshAmerican actress (1894-1968)
- Mae BuschAmerican actress (1891-1946)
- Mae QuestelAmerican actress (1908–1998)
- Mae ClarkeAmerican actress (1910–1992)
- Mae MurrayAmerican actress, dancer, film producer, screenwriter (1885–1965)
- Mae YoungAmerican professional wrestler (1923–2014)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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If you love Mae, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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