Maeve
Top 1000
About Maeve
Maeve is a short and sweet name that has become one of the most stylish Irish names for girls in the modern US. It joined the Top 100 for the first time in 2023 and now ranks at Number 75.
Maeve would make an excellent first or middle name choice, with more heft than Mae and more modern charm than Mavis.
Maeve appears in Irish mythology in two forms, one as the powerful Queen of Connacht, the other as the queen of the fairies. Maeve of Connacht was a warrior queen, famous for starting a war in attempt to steal her ex-husband's stud bull. Other spellings are Meabh, Medb, and Meadhbh, which are connected to mead, a honey-based wine that was produced in many ancient cultures.
Chris O'Donnell, Lili Taylor and Kathryn Erbe used Maeve for their daughters. The Irish author Maeve Binchy also is a well-known bearer. Maeve is the name of one of the lead characters on the HBO show Westworld.
Irish spelling Meabh is popular in Ireland, but not recommended in the US.
Pronounced mayv.
As of October 2026, Maeve ranked #76 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #73 in 2023, Nameberry popularity #13.
Editor's take: The name Maeve is a girl's name of Irish origin meaning "she who intoxicates".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #487 | 648 | 362.7 |
| 2015 | #452 | 703 | 393.8 |
| 2016 | #406 | 820 | 462.7 |
| 2017 | #360 | 867 | 502.2 |
| 2018 | #334 | 973 | 572 |
| 2019 | #244 | 1,303 | 776.4 |
| 2020 | #173 | 1,644 | 1,017 |
| 2021 | #124 | 2,253 | 1,373.1 |
| 2022 | #103 | 2,676 | 1,631.6 |
| 2023 | #73 | 3,057 | 1,905.2 |
| 2024 | #75 | 3,098 | 1,912.1 |
| 2025 | #76 | 3,153 | 1,961.7 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Maeve.
- Elodie
- Esme
- Cora
- Genevive
- Eloise
- Isla
- Freya
- Thea
- Maisie
- Adelaide
- Charolette
- Willa
- Imogen
- Wren
- Elowen
- Elsie
- Nora
- Maybel
- Arden
- Mae
Maeve on lists
Famous Maeves
- (Anne) Maeve Binchy
Irish novelist
- Maeve Brennan
Irish novelist
- Maeve Dermody
Australian actress
- Maeve Geraldine Fort
British diplomat
- Maeve Patricia Mary Theresa Gilmore
British painter; wife of author Mervyn Peake
- Maeve Higgins
Irish comedienne
- Maeve Kinkead
American soap opera actress
- Maeve Anne Quinlan
American actress
- Maeve Fahey Kennedy Townsend (b. 1979)
daughter of politician Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; granddaughter of politician Robert F. Kennedy
- Maeve Elsbeth Erbe Kinney (b. 1995)
daughter of actors Terry Kinney and Kathryn Erbe
- Maeve Frances O'Donnell (b. 2007)
daughter of actor Chris O'Donnell
- Maeve Taylor
Flynn (b. 2008), daughter of actress Lili Taylor and poet Nick Flynn
- Maeve Thea Rosa (b. 2017)
daughter of YouTubers Tara and Mandi Rosa of Living Rosa; twin of sister Everett Lux
- Maev Alexander (born Maev Alexandra Reid McConnell)
Scottish actress
- Maev Ni Mhaolchatha
Irish singer of group Celtic Woman
Maeve in pop culture
- Maeve
queen of Connaught in Irish mythology
- Maeve
character on TV's Make It Or Break It
- Maeve
character in Dustlands series by Moira Young
- Maeve Colleary Ryan
character on American soap Ryan's Hope
- Maeve Donovan
former girlfriend of Dr. Spencer Reid on Criminal Minds
- Maeve
Celtic sorceress on TV show The Adventures of Sinbad
- Maeve Millay
character on TV series Westworld
- Maeve Jacqueline Kelly Corrigan
Queen of Beldain, character in "The Young Elites" book series by Marie Lu
- Queen Maeve
main antagonist of Sarah J. Maas's book series "Throne of Glass"
- Maeve Wiley
character on TV's Sex Education
- Maeve Rojas
character in "One of Us is Lying" by Karen McManus
- Queen Maeve
One of the characters in the series "The Boys"
Variations & nicknames
- MaevaFrench
- MaebhGaelic
- MedbhGaelic
- MadhbhGaelic
- MeadhbhGaelic
- MeibhGaelic