Mae

Origin: Diminutive of Margaret, Mary, or Mabel; also a variant of May (from English)

Girl's name · #501 in the US (2025) · Comeback

Popularity over time

Mae was #52 in 1892, slipped to #2703 by 1993, and has climbed back to #501 today. About 115,000 girls have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Mae is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 41 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Mae ranks in other countries and regions.

#72 in Netherlands (2025) · #182 in Ireland (2025) · #293 in Scotland (2025) · #382 in N. Ireland (2025) · #385 in France (2025) · #392 in England & Wales (2025) · #438 in Switzerland (2025) · #447 in Belgium (2025) · #755 in Ecuador (2025) · #961 in Austria (2025) · #387 in Canada (2024).

Famous Maes

Mae West — American actress, singer, screenwriter, and writer (1893–1980)
Mae Jemison — American doctor and NASA astronaut
Mae Whitman — American actress
Mae Marsh — American actress (1894–1968)
Mae Muller — British singer

In stories & tradition

Mae Nak Phra Khanong — ghost
Mae sue — Guardian spirit in Thai culture
Mae Borowski^es — Night in the Woods (video game)

What Maes become

Among 148 notable people named Mae:

Entertainers appear 2.53× more often than among typical names — e.g. Mae West, American actress, singer, screenwriter, and writer (1893–1980).

Spellings & nicknames

Together with its spelling variant May (#1233), Mae would rank around #401 with about 780 births last year — the newborns split about 76/24 between Mae and May.

Similar names: Maggie · Frankie · May · Rae · Hattie · Matilda

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

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