Mae
A pet form of Mary and Margaret, reinforced by the month of May.
Popularity, 1880–2025
Mae appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1880 to 1920. Its biggest year was 1918, when 2,756 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 95 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1892, at No. 52. In 2025 it ranked No. 500 for girls. All told, 115,441 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: May (50,099), Mai (5,697), Maha (2,019), Maye (1,956), Mahi (1,285), Ma (631) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Mary, Margaret, May
Explore Mae interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 5,647 | No. 57 |
| 1890s | 10,918 | No. 52 |
| 1900s | 12,711 | No. 53 |
| 1910s | 21,530 | No. 65 |
| 1920s | 22,760 | No. 99 |
| 1930s | 12,859 | No. 137 |
| 1940s | 8,947 | No. 185 |
| 1950s | 5,542 | No. 287 |
| 1960s | 2,172 | No. 517 |
| 1970s | 830 | No. 1026 |
| 1980s | 606 | No. 1502 |
| 1990s | 654 | No. 1667 |
| 2000s | 1,714 | No. 1063 |
| 2010s | 4,427 | No. 548 |
| 2020s | 3,518 | No. 500 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
🍼 Enjoying this? Buy my baby a diaper
Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.