Mae
Mae was the 501st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 594 babies. Its best year was 1892, when it ranked 52nd; the most babies were born in 1918 (2,756). Over the last ten years it has moved up 87 places. More babies were named Mae in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning pet form of Mary or Margaret · English
Say it MAY /meɪ/
- Rank in 2025
- #501 girls, up 75 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 594girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19182,756 babies
- Total since 1880
- 115,441babies recorded
What does the name Mae mean?
Mae is a spelling of May, a pet form of Mary or Margaret, as Wiktionary notes; the Random House dictionary calls it a form of Mary. It is popular as a middle name and was fashionable as a first name in the US around 1900, a style the actress Mae West made famous. DMNES notes that the meaning of Mary's Hebrew original is uncertain.
How sure is this? Well established. Mae is a pet form; its parent names have uncertain (Mary) or Greek ('pearl', Margaret) meanings.
Related names: May, Mary, Margaret, Maisie.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Mae', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Mae', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Mary', DMNES, Durham University
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Mae popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 606 since 1885.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #501 | 594 |
| 2020 | #576 | 511 |
| 2010 | #979 | 259 |
| 2000 | #1,409 | 132 |
| 1990 | #2,190 | 59 |
| 1980 | #1,509 | 79 |
| 1970 | #1,033 | 120 |
| 1960 | #519 | 347 |
| 1950 | #287 | 737 |
| 1940 | #185 | 1,018 |
| 1930 | #137 | 1,650 |
| 1920 | #99 | 2,730 |
| 1910 | #65 | 1,453 |
| 1900 | #54 | 1,406 |
| 1890 | #58 | 920 |
| 1880 | #71 | 344 |
How popular is Mae, counting every spelling?
Mae is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #366 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #501 for Mae on its own. Together these spellings went to 903 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mae | 594 | #501 | 3,007 |
| May | 183 | #1,233 | 785 |
| Mei | 117 | #1,744 | 418 |
| Maye | 9 | #10,614 | 50 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Mae?
594 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Mae (0.16 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Mae born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 14 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Mae.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Mae?
About 25,700 people born in the US named Mae are alive today, with a median age of 64; half are between 12 and 79. That makes Mae a name most people associate with older generations. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Mae by state
How common Mae was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Utah (3.0×), Idaho (2.6×), Massachusetts (2.4×), Connecticut (2.4×), Nebraska (2.3×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Kentucky, New Mexico, Florida.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Mae: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Mae, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Mae · Sibling names for Mae
Mae is also a nickname for Mary.
Questions about the name Mae
What does Mae mean?
Mae means “pet form of Mary or Margaret” (English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Mae?
Mae was the 501st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 594 babies. Its best year was 1892, when it ranked 52nd; the most babies were born in 1918 (2,756). Over the last ten years it has moved up 87 places. More babies were named Mae in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Mae a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Mae in the US.
Where is Mae most popular?
In 2021–2025, Mae was most common in District of Columbia (1.35 per 1,000 girls), followed by Maine and Utah.