May

First Name
49k
in the U.S.
since 1880

Last Name
103k
in the U.S.
in 2010

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Meanings and Origins
Notable Persons Named May
Notable Persons With the Last Name May
Popularity by Year and Gender
Regional Popularity
Ethnicity Distribution
Fun Facts
What Mays Have Visited This Page?
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111k Mae (More Popular)
92k Maya
195k June
13k Maia
248 March
239k April
868 July
5k Mai
2k January
<100 Mayann
47k August
2k September
217k Mia (More Popular)

How to Pronounce May

May Pronunciations

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Meaning and Origin

What does the name May mean? Find out below.

Origin and Meaning of May

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Origin of May

May Means

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Webster's Unabridged Dictionary

verb May

An auxiliary verb qualifying the meaning of another verb,Ability, competency, or possibility; -- now oftener expressed by can.Liberty; permission; allowance.Contingency or liability; possibility or probability.Modesty, courtesy, or concession, or a desire to soften a question or remark.Desire or wish, as in prayer, imprecation, benediction, and the like.

Etymology: AS. pres. mæg I am able, pret. meahte mihte; akin to D. mogen, G. mögen, OHG. mugan magan, Icel. mega, Goth. magan, Russ. moche. √103. Cf. Dismay Main strength, Might. The old imp. mought is obsolete, except as a provincial word

noun May

A maiden.

Etymology: Cf. Icel. mær, Goth. mawi; akin to E. maiden. √103

noun May

Senses

The fifth month of the year, containing thirty-one days.
The early part or springtime of life."His May of youth, and bloom of lustihood." [Shak.]
[Bot] The flowers of the hawthorn; -- so called from their time of blossoming; also, the hawthorn."The palm and may make country houses gay." [Nash.]"Plumes that mocked the may." [Tennyson.]
The merrymaking of May Day.

Etymology: F. Mai, L. Maius; so named in honor of the goddess MaiaGr. Mai^a), daughter of Atlas and mother of Mercury by Jupiter

Other Dictionary Sources

Thorny Eurasian shrub of small tree having dense clusters of white to scarlet flowers followed by deep red berries; established as an escape in eastern North America
Synonyms: crataegus laevigata, crataegus oxycantha, english hawthorn, and whitethorn
The month following April and preceding June

Wiktionary

From Middle English, from Old English, from Old French mai, from Latin māius (“Maia's month”), from Maia, a Roman earth goddess, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *magya (“she who is great”), from Proto-Indo-European base *meg- (“great”)

The fifth month of the Gregorian calendar, following April and preceding June.
The hawthorn or its blossoms (as it blooms in May)
A female given name, pet name for Mary and Margaret, reinforced by the month and plant meaning.
A surname.

May was also found in the following language(s): Middle French, Norwegian, and Swedish

Notable Persons Named May

May Pang

May Pang is a personal assistant, production coordinator, jewellery designer, author, production manager (theatre), jewelry design, and jewellery designerand author. May was born on October 24th, 1950 in New York, US.

Popularity:

May Reilly Parker Jameson

May Reilly Parker Jameson is a comics character.

Popularity:

May Britt

May Britt is an actress and singer. Her career lasted from 1952 to 1988. May was given the name Maybritt Wilkens on March 22nd, 1934 in Lidingö.

Popularity:

May Helen Emma Abel Smith

May Helen Emma Abel Smith was royalty. She holds the title Born Princess May of Teck. May was born as the child of Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, Princess Alice, and Countess of Athlone on January 23rd, 1906. She breathed her last breath on May 29th, 1994.

Popularity:

May J.

May J. is a contemporary r&b, urban contemporary, and pop music singing and television presenter. She was most prominent from 2006 to 2006. May was given the name May Hashimoto on June 20th, 1988. May is also known as May J..

Popularity:

May Ling Su

May was born in Philippines.

Popularity:

Notable Persons With the Last Name May

Theresa May

Theresa May is a Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Transport, Home Secretary, Minister for Women, Equalities, Shadow Secretary of State for Work, Pensions, Shadow Minister for Women, Equality, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, Shadow Secretary of State for C. Theresa was born on October 1st, 1956 in Eastbourne.

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Brian May

Brian May is a rock music musician. He plays Red Special and Fender Telecaster. He has had major accomplishments since 1965. Brian was given the name Brian Harold May on July 19th, 1947 in Hampton, Middlesex, England.

Popularity:

James May

James May is a television presenter, author, columnist, journalist, and wine critic. His most notable accomplishments were from 1998 to present. James was given the name James Daniel May on January 16th, 1963 in Bristol. James is also known as Captain Slow.

Popularity:

Imelda May

Imelda May is a rockabilly, blues, jazz, pop music, and soul music singer-songwriter, composer, and television presenter. She plays Guitar, Bodhrán, Tambourine, Bass guitar, and Vocals. She was most active from 2002 to present. Imelda was given the name Imelda Mary Clabby on July 10th, 1974 in Dublin.

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Jeannie Berlin

Jeannie Berlin is an actress and writer. She has been prominent since 1969. Jeannie was given the name Jeannie Brette May by her parent Elaine May on November 1st, 1949 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.

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Elaine May

Elaine May is a screenwriter, film director, actress, and comedian. Her career lasted from 1958 to 2000. Elaine was given the name Elaine Iva Berlin on April 21st, 1932 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Popularity:

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How popular is the baby name May in the U.S.?

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Year	Total Babies Born	Girls Born	Boys Born	Ranking
1880	462	462	0	#57 girl name
1881	451	451	0	#58 girl name
1882	518	510	8	#59 girl name
1883	538	532	6	#57 girl name
1884	564	564	0	#61 girl name
1885	612	607	5	#60 girl name
1886	610	602	8	#63 girl name
1887	653	648	5	#61 girl name
1888	793	782	11	#63 girl name
1889	732	723	9	#64 girl name
1890	756	751	5	#65 girl name
1891	701	696	5	#68 girl name
1892	763	753	10	#70 girl name
1893	699	693	6	#73 girl name
1894	771	763	8	#71 girl name
1895	691	691	0	#80 girl name
1896	671	671	0	#82 girl name
1897	603	595	8	#91 girl name
1898	696	696	0	#86 girl name
1899	571	571	0	#95 girl name
1900	749	744	5	#91 girl name
1901	556	550	6	#95 girl name
1902	570	560	10
1903	548	541	7
1904	555	555	0
1905	536	530	6
1906	524	524	0
1907	552	544	8
1908	515	515	0
1909	488	483	5
1910	600	594	6
1911	546	541	5
1912	703	698	5
1913	706	695	11
1914	783	769	14
1915	990	974	16
1916	954	938	16
1917	962	945	17
1918	982	961	21
1919	991	981	10
1920	973	955	18
1921	989	977	12
1922	868	855	13
1923	872	864	8
1924	885	869	16
1925	871	849	22
1926	779	766	13
1927	756	745	11
1928	717	705	12
1929	594	579	15
1930	569	554	15
1931	495	481	14
1932	450	440	10
1933	413	404	9
1934	386	371	15
1935	361	352	9
1936	332	318	14
1937	303	292	11
1938	279	274	5
1939	267	257	10
1940	293	285	8
1941	259	251	8
1942	289	280	9
1943	219	219	0
1944	232	226	6
1945	209	204	5
1946	194	194	0
1947	234	234	0
1948	221	221	0
1949	205	205	0
1950	189	184	5
1951	222	222	0
1952	177	177	0
1953	172	172	0
1954	197	190	7
1955	189	182	7
1956	172	165	7
1957	147	147	0
1958	144	144	0
1959	141	141	0
1960	145	139	6
1961	136	127	9
1962	127	119	8
1963	114	109	5
1964	113	113	0
1965	115	108	7
1966	105	105	0
1967	97	97	0
1968	101	101	0
1969	93	93	0
1970	93	93	0
1971	113	113	0
1972	78	78	0
1973	98	98	0
1974	89	89	0
1975	88	88	0
1976	77	77	0
1977	85	85	0
1978	81	81	0
1979	108	108	0
1980	134	129	5
1981	145	145	0
1982	163	154	9
1983	139	130	9
1984	131	126	5
1985	134	134	0
1986	123	115	8
1987	107	101	6
1988	97	86	11
1989	107	101	6
1990	93	84	9
1991	94	87	7
1992	81	74	7
1993	78	78	0
1994	95	95	0
1995	82	82	0
1996	92	86	6
1997	85	85	0
1998	69	69	0
1999	73	73	0
2000	89	89	0
2001	91	91	0
2002	91	91	0
2003	91	91	0
2004	85	85	0
2005	95	95	0
2006	75	75	0
2007	92	92	0
2008	94	94	0
2009	80	80	0
2010	107	107	0
2011	88	88	0
2012	106	106	0
2013	108	108	0
2014	138	138	0
2015	130	130	0
2016	131	131	0
2017	127	127	0

Where is the name May popular?

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Popularity of May as a first name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name May as a first name in each of the states. See other popular names in Hawaii, Mississippi, or Arkansas.

Popularity of May as a last name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name May as a last name in each of the states. See other popular names in Mississippi, Kentucky, or Arkansas.

Common last names for May

Smith
Johnson
Miller
Brown
Jones
Williams
Davis
Wilson
Anderson
White
Martin
Clark
Thompson
Moore
Taylor
Lee
Young
Harris
Baker

Common first names for May

Ethnicity Distribution

Ethnicity		May	U.S.
█	White	83.55%	64.26%
█	African American	9.57%	11.96%
█	Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander	1.22%	4.85%
█	American Indian and Alaska Native	0.73%	0.69%
█	Two or More Ethnicities	1.89%	1.76%
█	Hispanic or Latino	3.04%	16.26%

Of Last Name May

People with the last name May are most frequently White

Entire United States

Fun Facts about the name May

What name lists does May rank for?

#86 Old-Fashioned Girl Names

#71 Last Name First Names
How Popular is the name May? May is the 1,015^th most popular name of all time. As a last name May was the 304^th most popular name in 2010.
How many people with the first name May have been born in the United States? From 1880 to 2017, the Social Security Administration has recorded 48,925 babies born with the first name May in the United States. That's more than enough people named May to occupy the territory of Faroe Islands (Denmark) with an estimated population of 48,285 (as of March 1, 2012).
What year were 5 or more babies first named May? The name was first given to 5 or more babies in the year 1880 when it was given as a first name to 462 new born babies.
When was May first recorded in the United States? The oldest recorded birth by the Social Security Administration for the first name May is Friday, August 7th, 1863.
What year had the most people named May born? The highest recorded use of the first name May was in 1919 with a total of 981 babies.
Random May Factoid: According to the 1937 U.S. Social Security Administration data, the first name May ranks 96^th in popularity as a baby girl's name in Hawaii. Imagine that, 11 babies in Hawaii have the same name as you in 1937.
Weird things about the name May: Your name in reverse order is Yam. A random rearrangement of the letters in your name (anagram) will give Mya. How do you pronounce that?
How many people have the last name May? In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau surveyed 103,306 people with the last name May.
How likely are you to meet someone with the last name of May? May was ranked as the 304^th most popular last name but is still less than 0.1% of the population!