Mai is a girl name with a modern feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Mai means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Mai across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Mai has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Mai is a girl name of Japanese origin meaning “dance; also brightness”. A name used in Japanese, Vietnamese, and Scandinavian traditions.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 5,697 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 551 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 184 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 Mai per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 1990 (254/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2008 (39/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2021 (16/yr).
Mai is an uncommon baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1990, when it ranked #1,399 nationally (given to 254 babies that year).
Mia · Maya · Mae · Mya · May · Maia · Miah · Myah
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