May
About May
May is a sweet old-fashioned name that hasn't been on the national charts in several decades, but is definitely sounding fresh and springlike. Parents are beginning to see it once more as one of the prettiest middle name options. May was as high on the list as Number 57 in the 1880s; it's now 228 on Nameberry.
May started as one of the innumerable pet forms of Mary and Margaret, as well as a springtime month name along with April and June. She's represented in literature by May Bartram in Henry James's The Beast in the Jungle and May Welland in Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence.
Actresses Emily Morton and Madeline Stowe named their daughters May, and Eric Clapton and Jodie Sweetin used it in middle place for theirs.
Pronounced MAY.
As of October 2026, May ranked #1233 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #57 in 1883, Nameberry popularity #374.
Editor's take: The name May is a girl's name of English origin.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,575 | 138 | 77.3 |
| 2015 | #1,652 | 130 | 72.8 |
| 2016 | #1,651 | 131 | 73.9 |
| 2017 | #1,681 | 128 | 74.1 |
| 2018 | #1,645 | 129 | 75.8 |
| 2019 | #1,601 | 133 | 79.2 |
| 2020 | #1,712 | 119 | 73.6 |
| 2021 | #1,705 | 122 | 74.4 |
| 2022 | #1,446 | 155 | 94.5 |
| 2023 | #1,433 | 156 | 97.2 |
| 2024 | #1,357 | 168 | 103.7 |
| 2025 | #1,233 | 183 | 113.9 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like May.
- Holly
- Joy
- Penny
- Bonnie
- Wendy
- Cherrie
- Rosie
- Heather
- Robin
- Heidi
- Hope
- Maggie
- Sally
- April
- Kitty
- Minnie
- Annie
- Molly
- Nancy
- Eve
May on lists
Famous Mays
- Mary Jeanette "May" Robson
Australian,American actress
- Eleanore Marie "May" Sarton
American poet, novelist, and memoirist
- May Helen Emma Abel Smith
Princess of Teck, great,granddaughter of Queen Victoria
- May
nickname of Mary of Teck, Queen consort of George V of the U.K.
- May Whitty (born Mary Louise Webster)
English actress
- May O'Donnell
American dancer/choreographer
- May Fung Yee Pang
American former girlfriend of musician John Lennon
- May J. (born May Hashimoto)
Japanese pop singer
- May Allison
American actress
- May Britt
Swedish actress
- May Mcavoy
American silent film actress
- Louisa May Alcott
American novelist
- (Abigail) May Alcott Nieriker
American artist and sister of Louisa May Alcott
- Maryum "May May" Ali
daughter of boxer Muhammad Ali
- May Rose Nivola
daughter of English actress Emily Mortimer
- (Cecilia) May Gibbs
Australian children's author
- May Theodora Benben
daughter of actors Madeleine Stowe and Brian Benben
- Scarlett May Stuber (b. 2015)
daughter of model Molly Sims
- May Andersen (b. 1982) Danish model
appeared in Victoria's Secret & Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
- May Martin
Famous British Seamstress
May in pop culture
- May Parker aka Aunt May
character in Marvel's Spider,Man series
- May "Mayday" Parker aka Spider
Girl, daughter of Spider,Man
- May Welland
character from "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton
- May
a main character in Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald
- May
the main female character in the Pokemon Advanced anime series saga
- May Singer
sister of America Singer, The Selection Trilogy by Kiera Cass
- May Clutterbucket
a character on TV's "Girl Meets World".
- May Kanker
character on animated series "Ed, Edd n Eddy"
- Anna May Bates
character from "Downton Abbey"
- Maggie May
song by Rod Stewart
- Melinda May
character in Marvel Universe