Given name & surname
May
“gift of God”·“a gift from God”
In English use, May is an affectionate form of Matthew. Interpretations include “gift of God” (Hebrew) and “a gift from God” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Original LatinMaius
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, May is an affectionate form of Matthew. Interpretations include “gift of God” (Hebrew) and “a gift from God” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
How it developed
In English usage, May is an affectionate form of Mary. In English usage, May is an affectionate form of Margaret.
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
May through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 50,099
- 699 boys · 49,400 girls
- Most popular year
- 1919
- 991 babies
- 2025
- 183
- #1,233 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +23%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 183 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,233 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 22.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 981 in 1919. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (21). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 22,045 as a first name in 2020; 101,571 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.
May’s family of names
May is an affectionate form of Mary. In English usage, May shares a linguistic root with the Latin form Marius. In English usage, May has a related form in Maya.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
May has relatives in 12 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 21
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 14
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Mariuscognate · Latin
- Maiusroot · Latin
- Mayleeequivalent
- MajaHungarian
- Meaequivalent
- MaijaLatvian
- Maieequivalent
- Maymeequivalent
Show 6 moreShow fewer
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named May
- May WhittyEnglish actress (1865-1948)
- May RobsonAustralian-born American actress (1858-1942)
- May CalamawyEgyptian-Palestinian actressborn 1986
- May McAvoyAmerican actress (1899–1984)
- May SuttonUS tennis player (1886–1975)
- May SinclairBritish novelist 1863-1946
- May PangAmerican former music executiveborn 1950
- May J.Japanese singerborn 1988
- May AyimGerman poet (1960–1996)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love May, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Estella
“resembling a star”
>99% girls
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“a flourishing woman; a blooming flower”
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Marian
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Alma
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1% boys · 99% girls
Elvira
“a-truthful woman; one who can be trusted”
>99% girls