Sibling Names: The Ultimate Guide

Grandma Names: The Ultimate Guide

Rare Girls’ Names of the 1940s: Avis, Marigold and Jinx

Feminist Names For Empowered Children

One-Syllable Middle Names

Disney Girl Names: The Next Generation

100+ Best Girl Names Ending in a Vowel

Libra Baby Names Strike a Balance

Names That Let You Have It Both Ways

Doll Names: The History of Doll Names Through the Decades

Double-Barrel Names: US vs. UK

The name Mae peaked for boys at #790 in 1909. Mae is also used for girls, ranking #501 in 2025.

The name Mae is a girl's name of English origin meaning "beloved, bitter, drop of the sea; pearl".

English Names

English Names for Girls

3 Letter Girl Names

UK Baby Names

UK Girl Names

Names Ending in E for Girls

Names That Mean Pearl

Names That Mean Bitter

One Syllable Names for Girls

Names that Peaked in 1892

Names that Peaked in 1895

Girl Dog Names That Start With M

Girl Cat Names That Start With M

Dog Names That Start With M

Cat Names That Start With M

English Names that Start With M

Mae, a sweet and springlike old-fashioned name, hadn't been on the national charts in forty years, but finally made it back in 2010. Mae is derived from May, the month name that was chosen for its connection to Maia, the Roman goddess of growth and motherhood. 
 
Mae can be used as a nickname for the names Mary and Margaret — actress Mae West was born Mary. Alternate spellings include May, Mei, and Maye. The May spelling makes it more of a month name, while Mae makes it an antique nickname name. Both can stand on their own, as seen by Hilary Duff's choice of Mae as her daughter's first name.
 Mae along with twin sister May is now one of the prettiest and most popular middle name options for girls (Eric Clapton has an Ella Mae, Greg Kinnear an Audrey Mae, Ian Ziering a Penna Mae). 
 
A Top 100 name through 1920, Mae was big in early film history — there were leading actresses named Mae Clarke, Mae Marsh, Mae Busch, and Mae Murray. Towering over them (figuratively) was Mae West, who changed the name from sweet to sophisticated. Madonna also played a character called Mae in the 1992 movie A League of Their Own.
 
Mae Jemison was the first African-American woman to travel in space. Mae Whitman is a rising young actress seen recently on Parenthood and Arrested Development.
 
It may be worth noting that Mãe is the Portuguese word for mother, so if you've got Brazilian or Portuguese relatives, it's probably best to stick to May or Mei.

Old-Fashioned Girl Names

Nickname Names

Cool Vintage Baby Names

Cool Baby Names for Girls and Boys

Top Middle Names

Old Hollywood Names for Girls

Vintage Girl Names

Libra Baby Names

Vintage Baby Names

Classic Girl Names 

International Variations of Margaret

Leo Baby Names

Popular English Girl Names 

Girl Names Like Grace

Nameberry's Top Girl Names of the 2010s

New Names of the 2010s

Old-Fashioned Cat Names

Cool Cat Names

Girl Names Like Ava

Cat Names

Girl Names Like Daisy

Old-Fashioned Baby Names

Girl Names Like Emma

Nicknames for Girls

October Baby Names

Science and Technology Names

Old-Fashioned Names

Three Letter Names

Black Hero Names

Western Names

Southern Names for Girls and Boys

Horse Names

Western Dog Names

Heroine Baby Names

Cool Cowgirl Names

Supermodel Baby Names

Vintage Nicknames for Girls

One-Syllable Middle Names for Girls

Country Baby Names

Country Girl Names

One-Syllable Baby Names

Dog Names

Girl Names Like Lucy

August Names

Girl Names Like Alice

Middle Names for Baby Girls and Boys

Cool Dog Names

The Most Common Middle Names

Cool Girl Names

Middle Names for Girls

Best One Syllable Girl Names

Short Baby Names

Fastest-Rising Girl Names 2025

Celebrity Girl Names

Names With Lots of Spellings

English

Nameberry

Future

England

Netherlands

The name Mae is currently ranked #501 in U.S. births. and peaked for girls at #52 in 1895. The name is most popular in MAE, MAE, and MAE. Mae is occasionally used for boys in 2023.

Ellamae

Mae

About Mae

Popularity & trends

Mae in blog posts

Advanced Search

Save Mae

Year	US rank	Births	Per million
2014	—	0	0
2015	—	0	0
2016	—	0	0
2017	—	0	0
2018	—	0	0
2019	—	0	0
2020	—	0	0
2021	—	0	0
2022	—	0	0
2023	—	0	0
2024	—	0	0
2025	—	0	0