Mae is a girl name with a classic feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Mae means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Mae across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Mae has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Mae is a girl name of Greek origin meaning “of uncertain meaning”. a variant of May, itself linked to Margaret and Mary.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 115,441 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 2,602 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 96 births |
| Northern Ireland since 1997 | 36 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 315 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Mae per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 1918 (2,769/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2007 (179/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2025 (26/yr) · Scotland peaked in 2025 (12/yr) · Northern Ireland peaked in 2019 (6/yr).
Mae has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1918, when it ranked #165 nationally (given to 2,769 babies that year), and a popular choice in the 1910s.
Mia · Maya · Mya · May · Maia · Miah · Myah · Mai
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