Mae

MAY

Diminutive of Mary or Margaret, Hebrew, Latin

"beloved, bitter, drop of the sea; pearl"

Mae Origin and Meaning

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

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.

Mae Rank in US Top 1000

# 506 in the US

Mae Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 31 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Mae

• 506 US 2023
• 31 Nameberry 2025
• 385 Future 2028
• 430 England 2023
• 74 Netherlands 2024

20 Names Similar to Mae

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Mae.

• Maisie
• Elsie
• Millie
• Sadie
• Nora
• Willa
• Ada
• Cora
• Georgia
• Eliza
• Penelope
• Evie
• Margot
• June
• Pippa
• Olive
• Eloise
• Clara
• Mabel
• Hazel

Famous People Named Mae

• 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

The name 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