Mae
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Meaning
possibly a form of Mary, or from the month of May; famously borne by Mae Jemison, engineer and physician who became the first Black woman in space
The story
Mae is a small Victorian jewel, most often explained as a pet form of Mary or a borrowing of the month of May, its spelling softened into something all its own. American parents adored it around 1900, when it sat at its all-time peak, then let it slide for the better part of a century. The bearer who gives it new gravity is Mae Jemison, the engineer and physician who flew aboard the shuttle Endeavour in 1992 and became the first Black woman in space, a Peace Corps doctor turned astronaut who has spent the years since pulling students toward science. Since the 2000s Mae has been climbing again on the strength of the vintage revival, and the chart below shows the shape plainly: a name that dipped low and is now arcing back toward the light.
The formal names behind Mae
Mae is an established short form of this name.
Mary · Hebrew origin · bitter; beloved
How popular is Mae around the world?
In the United States, 3,523 babies were named Mae between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 26 girls named Mae were born in 2025, the 180th most common name among girls that year.
Mae is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, South Australia, Canada, England and Wales, Scotland, Mexico City, Austria, Chile, Argentina, France, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 6,200
In the United States, 3,523 babies were named Mae between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Mae peaked in the 1890s and the 1900s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Mae has stayed between 606 and 5,578 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 2,100
In Ireland, 26 girls named Mae were born in 2025, the 180th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
South Australia
1 in 3,1002017
In South Australia, 6 girls were registered as Mae in 2017.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 4,400
In Canada, 78 girls named Mae were born in 2024, the 383rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 5,400
In England and Wales, 108 girls named Mae were born in 2025, the 391st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Scotland
1 in 7,600
In Scotland, 6 girls named Mae were registered in 2024, the 476th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Mexico City City
1 in 9,800
In Mexico City, there were 12 registrations of Mae in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (1 registration through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Austria
1 in 19,000
In Austria, 4 girls named Mae were born in 2025, the 858th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Chile
1 in 36,000
In Chile, 5 girls were registered as Mae in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Argentina
1 in 95,000
In Argentina, 7 newborns were given the name Mae in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
France
1 in 130,000
In France, about 5 boys named Mae were born in 2025, ranked 6,022nd among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Mae, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Spain
1 in 190,000
In Spain, 233 residents are named Mae, ranked 3,964th among women, with a mean age of 12.2 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 297 people in Brazil were named Mae, ranked 19,191st, with a median age of 57.
Among people named Mae living in Brazil at the 2022 census, roughly as many were born in the 1950s as in the 1960s, more than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
last on record 1978
Mae is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New Zealand
last on record 2016
Mae is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Poland
last on record 2015
Mae is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Mae
People given the name Mae in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 2019. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names of explorers and adventurers · Names of geniuses and inventors · Short names · Familiar but never popular
The Mae deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Mae truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Mae fits with your family’s names and surname.
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