May
Masculine
May is given to girls far more often — 49,400 girls against 699 boys since 1880. See May as a girl name
May is three letters that arrive from at least three directions, and the record has held it for daughters and sons since records began. The day at the start of the month it names is a public holiday in most of the world for a reason that happened in Illinois.
How old is the name May?
May first appears in US birth records in 1882 — 143 years ago. The typical May alive today was born around 1925, making them about 100 years old. About 200 people named May are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name May most popular?
May peaked in 1888, reaching #609 nationally. See the whole 1888 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of May
The first of May is a labor holiday in most countries in the world, and the event it commemorates happened in Chicago. A general strike for the eight-hour day culminated in a rally at Haymarket Square in eighteen eighty-six; somebody threw a bomb at the police line, several officers and an unknown number of civilians died, and eight anarchists were convicted on evidence that did not connect most of them to the bomb. Four were hanged. The international labor movement adopted the date in their memory three years later, and it spread to nearly every country on earth. The United States, where it happened, deliberately did not adopt it: a September holiday was already in use and was preferred precisely because it carried none of the associations. So the one country with the events has the wrong date, and the rest of the world keeps the anniversary of something it did not see.
Meaningnot established
Not established
It may be the month, in which case it carries the name of a Roman goddess the Romans themselves could not explain. It may be a short form of Mary or of Margaret, both of which produced it in different English-speaking regions. Or it may be the English word used as a name in its own right. The registers do not distinguish them.
Pronouncing May
MAY
One syllable, said exactly like the month and the verb. Nothing about it needs explaining to anybody.
Nicknames for May
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1882
- Most boys named
- 192522 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #609reached in 1888
- Change vs 1991
- −14.3%6 in 1996, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Mays among us
people named May are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
May sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Three letters fit any field on any form and cannot be misspelled.
- It works for a child of either sex, which the record confirms.
- It is short, clear and carries across a room.
- It is also a very common English verb, which makes it easy to lose in a sentence.
- Mae and Mai are both recorded and will be written for it.
- Its origin in any given family is usually unrecoverable, so the meaning question has three answers.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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May
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Mays are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named May are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name May in 2025?
- May is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name May with classmates?
- May will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Michael#21 · Matthew#32 · Mark#244 · Mason#39 · Martin#335 · Marvin#699 · Melvin#958 · Marcus#258
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles May? See the current top 100.
Choosing between May and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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