Mae
Top 1000
About Mae
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.
Pronounced MAY.
As of October 2026, Mae ranked #501 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #52 in 1895, Nameberry popularity #88.
Editor: Pamela Redmond
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #686 | 413 | 231.2 |
| 2015 | #588 | 513 | 287.4 |
| 2016 | #579 | 535 | 301.9 |
| 2017 | #640 | 461 | 267 |
| 2018 | #553 | 561 | 329.8 |
| 2019 | #549 | 556 | 331.3 |
| 2020 | #574 | 511 | 316.1 |
| 2021 | #504 | 620 | 377.9 |
| 2022 | #511 | 614 | 374.4 |
| 2023 | #506 | 599 | 373.3 |
| 2024 | #530 | 574 | 354.3 |
| 2025 | #501 | 594 | 369.6 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Mae.
- Maisie
- Elsie
- Sadie
- Millie
- Nora
- Ada
- Madaline
- Willa
- Cora
- Jeana
- Georgia
- Penelope
- June
- Eliza
- Margot
- Ruby
- Evie
- Olive
- Mabel
- Camillia
Mae on lists
Famous Maes
- Mary Jane "Mae" West
American actress
- Mae Carol Jemison
first African,American woman astronaut
- Mae Clarke (born Violet Mary Klotz)
American actress
- Mae Questel
American actress, voice of cartoon character Betty Boop
- Mae Margaret Whitman
American actress
- (Johnnie) Mae Young
American professional wrestler
- Mae Mei Lapres
Canadian model
- Anna Mae Bullock
birth name of American singer Tina Turner
- (Annie) Mae Busch
Australian actress
- Mae Murray (born Marie Adrienne Koenig)
American actress
- Mary Wayne "Mae" Marsh
American actress
- Mae Moore
Canadian singer,songwriter
- Vanessa
Mae Vanakorn Nicholson, British violinist
- Kealia Mae Ohai Watt
American soccer player
- Mae Akins Roth (b. 2005)
daughter of actors Matt Roth and Laurie Metcalf
- Mae Sandler (b. 2007)
daughter of actors Kathryn Hahn and Ethan Sandler
- Mae Madeleine Wellesley (b. 2010)
daughter of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Douro and model Jemma Kidd
- Mae Elizabeth Waterman (b. 2010)
daughter of reality TV personality Jen Schefft ("The Bachelorette") and Joe Waterman
- Mae Webb (b. 2014)
daughter of actress Kate Ritchie and Stuart Webb
- May June "Mae" West
British author, daughter of serial killers Fred and Rose West
Mae in pop culture
- Mae Mobley
character in Kathryn Stockett's "The Help"
- Mae Braddock
character in movie "Cinderella Man"
- Mae "Maeby" Funke
character on TV's "Arrested Development"
- Mae Caldwell
character in movie "Secondhand Lions"
- Mae
character in "Where'd You Go, Bernadette"
- Mae Loxley
character in Mr. Selfridge
- Lula Mae Barnes
Holly Golightly's real name in "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
- Mae
minor character in the video game "Gravity Rush"
- Mae Sherman
sister of Nikki Sherman in the Main Street books by Anne M Martin
- Mae (Margaret) Borowski
main character in the video game "Night In The Woods"
- Mae Nasser
a character in the Ziva Payvan series written by EJ Fisch
- Mae
American rock band
- Ethel Mae Potter Mertz
character in the TV show "I Love Lucy"