May

Did you know?

A few things about May you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous May

May Whitty

English actress (1865-1948)

Choose May and your child shares a first name with May Whitty, an English actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “May, like who?” May Whitty's Wikipedia article is available in 35 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about May Whitty on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Bain News Service, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 8,780 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named May, 183 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your May would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryMay has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Mays, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1883, when it ranked #57. Today it's #1,229, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📈Then vs nowMay is 2.3× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 20,408 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 8,780.
• 🚀TrendMay has climbed 475 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #1,229. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedMay is most popular in Oregon, where it ranks #483, followed by Washington (#541) and Utah (#605). It's in the top 1,000 in 7 states.
• 💬MeaningIn English, May means “month of May”. Our records link it to Anglo Saxon, Arabic and English roots.

About the name May

May is a girl name of Anglo Saxon, Arabic and English origin meaning “month of May”. It has 3 letters and 1 syllable, starting with M and ending in “-may”. US birth records list May for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1883, when it ranked #57 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #1,229, with 183 babies.

Origin:Anglo Saxon namesArabic namesEnglish namesLatin namesScottish names