Given name & surname · also Latin
Mei
“the great one”·“May”
Mei is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “the great one” and “May”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “the great one” and “May”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Latin and Hawaiian naming traditions.
How it developed
From Mandarin 梅 (méi, “plum”), from Mandarin 枚 (méi, “tree trunk”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1947. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mei through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,859
- 0 boys · 1,859 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 117 babies
- 2025
- 117
- #1,744 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +40%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 117 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,744 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 40.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (17). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 11,596 as a first name in 2020; 9,725 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.
Mei’s family of names
Mei has a related form in May. In Hawaiian usage, Mei was borrowed from the English form May. Mei has a related form in Meiying.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Mei has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
6 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 6
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Mei
- Mei FinegoldIsraeli singerborn 1982
- Mei NaganoJapanese actress (born 1999)
- May'nJapanese singerborn 1989
- Mei YamazakiJapanese singer, dancer and modelborn 2005
- Mei Li VosDutch politician, trade unionist and editorialistborn 1970
- Mei KurokawaJapanese actressborn 1987
- Han MeiChinese female speed skaterborn 1998
- Hu MeiChinese director, television director and producerborn 1958
- Mei ShimadaJapanese association football playerborn 2002
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Mei, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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