ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1880 First Year 2026 Last Year 1918 Peak Year #52 Peak Rank 115K Total Count 147 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Mae What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Mae is a feminine given name primarily used in English-speaking countries. Often regarded as a variant of May, it is associated with the Roman goddess Maia, symbolizing spring, growth, and fertility. The name gained popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is frequently used as a vintage-style given or middle name. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mae%5F%28given%5Fname%29) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mae%5F%28given%5Fname%29) [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Mae](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/EvrybodyShimmiesNowMaeWestCover.jpg/330px-EvrybodyShimmiesNowMaeWestCover.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mae%5F%28given%5Fname%29) 📖 ## The Story of Mae Mae first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1880, with 344 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1918, when 2,756 Maes were born — ranking #95 that year. As of 2026, Mae ranks #502 for baby girls with 604 births, gradually rising (+10%). In total, more than 115K Maes have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🎶 ## Names that sound like Mae Phonetically similar names — useful when Mae is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [May](/may) * [Mey](/mey) * [Mei](/mei) * [Maye](/maye) * [Me](/me) * [Ma](/ma) * [Mee](/mee) * Maw * [Mi](/mi) * Meh * [Mao](/mao) * [Mea](/mea) Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Mae What does the name Mae mean? Mae is a feminine given name primarily used in English-speaking countries. Often regarded as a variant of May, it is associated with the Roman goddess Maia, symbolizing spring, growth, and fertility. The name gained popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is frequently used as a vintage-style given or middle name. How popular is Mae in 2026? In 2026, Mae ranks #502 among girls' names in the U.S., with 604 babies given the name that year. When was Mae most popular? Mae reached its peak popularity in 1918, ranking #52 that year with 2,756 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Mae most popular? Mae has historically been most popular in Utah, Delaware, Florida. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Mae. Is Mae a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Mae is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name. What names go well with Mae? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Mae include Rosa, Anne, Sally. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names [👧RosaPeak #52](/rosa)[👧AnnePeak #52](/anne)[👧SallyPeak #52](/sally)[👧PatsyPeak #52](/patsy)[👧SuzannePeak #52](/suzanne)[👧KatelynPeak #52](/katelyn)[👧SerenityPeak #52](/serenity)[👧MamiePeak #53](/mamie) ## About the name Mae Mae is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 115K births in the dataset. Mae's peak popularity came in 1918 when it ranked #52\. Use the chart and map above to compare Mae's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1918 → ](/year/1918) * [ Names of the 1910s → ](/decade/1910s) * [ Names starting with "M" → ](/letter/m) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.