May

“The month of May, from Maia, a Roman goddess” — Latin via Old French origin

Girl's name · #1233 in the US (2025) · Comeback

May was #57 in 1880, slipped to #2476 by 2006, and has climbed back to #1233 today. About 49,000 girls have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Together with its spelling variant Mae (#501), May would rank around #401 with about 780 births last year — the newborns split about 76/24 between Mae and May.

Around the world: about 1 in 1,600 girls in Scotland (2025) · about 1 in 4,000 girls in England & Wales (2025) · about 1 in 4,400 girls in Norway (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 19 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Mays

May Ziadeh — Lebanese-Palestinian writer (1886-1941)
May Whitty — English actress (1865-1948)
May Robson — Australian-born American actress (1858-1942)
May Calamawy — Egyptian-Palestinian actress
May Britt — Swedish actress (1934–2025)

In stories & tradition

May — Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire · Pokémon: Jirachi, Wish Maker
May (Spider-Girl) — Earth-616
May Day — A View to a Kill

What Mays become

Among 601 notable people named May:

Entertainers appear 2.16× more often than among typical names — e.g. May Whitty, English actress (1865-1948).

Similar names: Mayah · Louisa · Mae · Shay · Cordelia · Nellie

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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