NamesGirlM › May
Girl name

May

/ˈmeɪ/ · 99% girls · 183 born in 2025

May has been given to about 50,099 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1919, which makes it a Edwardian name.

Meaning
Origin
Syllables1
Pronunciation/ˈmeɪ/
Nicknames
Living in the US≈ 13,163
Median age today63 years

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named May per year · SSA, ONS, NRS, CSO, INSEE and SSB
18802025
United StatesEngland & WalesScotlandFranceNorwayeach scaled to its own peak
  • Peak year1919 · 991
  • Born in 2025183
  • All time50,099
  • England & Wales, 2025#614 · 64

How popular is May?

Its best year was 1919, when 991 babies were given the name, ranking 194th. The typical living American called May is about 63 years old today. It is relatively most common in Oregon, where it accounts for 0.02% of births.

Names that sound like May

Phonetic similarity, 0–1
  1. Mary0.75
  2. Kay0.75
  3. Macy0.75
  4. Fay0.75
  5. Gay0.75
  6. Mai0.76
  7. Maya0.64
  8. Mandy0.64

Middle names for May

Ranked by flow score
  1. May Iris0.77
  2. May Opal0.77
  3. May Ivy0.77
  4. May Noelle0.77
  5. May Belle0.77
  6. May Alice0.75

Sibling names for May

Same era, comparable use, no clash
  1. Lottiesister · 0.98
  2. Hattiesister · 0.95
  3. Goldiesister · 0.94
  4. Cleoeither · 0.89
  5. Archiebrother · 0.86
  6. Sambrother · 0.86

Where May is strongest

Share of 2025 births by state
  1. Oregon0.02%
  2. Washington0.02%
  3. Utah0.02%
  4. Colorado0.02%
  5. Maryland0.01%

With a common surname

Flow score against the most-used American surnames · try your own
  1. May Evans0.73
  2. May Edwards0.73
  3. May Anderson0.70
  4. May Allen0.70
  5. May Adams0.70
  6. May Wilson0.69

How to read these numbers

Every score on this page is explained
  1. Phonetic similarity0–1
  2. Middle-name flow0–1
  3. Sibling fit0–1
  4. Living population estimatemethod
  5. PronunciationCMU dictionary

Sources for May

Every figure on this page is public record
  1. United States1880–2025
  2. England & Wales1996–2025
  3. Scotland1974–2020
  4. France1900–2025
  5. Norway1945–2025
  6. PronunciationCMU dictionary

May across America

Share of 2025 births in each state. Darker means more common.
ME
WA
VT
NH
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
CA
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
DC
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
SC
AK
TX
GA
FL
HI
raremost common

Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.