Mei
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Meaning
beautiful (美); a classic Cantonese given-name element, common alone or in compounds like Siu-Mei
Say it: MAY
The story
Mei in this collection is the Cantonese reading of 美, beautiful, common alone or in compounds. Chinese art keeps another mei altogether: 梅, the plum, read mei in Mandarin pinyin, Prunus mume, the blossom that opens in winter. In the classical canon the plum blossom is one of the Four Gentlemen, alongside the orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, four plants that have carried the virtues of uprightness, purity, humility and perseverance through centuries of painting, with the plum standing for winter itself, flowering despite the cold. So a Mei written 美 carries beauty, and a Mei written 梅 carries the bravest flower on the scroll: two characters, two reading traditions, one Latin spelling where they meet. American records chart the spelling lightly in recent decades. Either reading gives a daughter something to grow into: loveliness by one stroke of the pen, resilience by the other.
How popular is Mei around the world?
In the United States, 483 babies were named Mei between 2020 and 2025. In Mexico City, there were 5 registrations of Mei in 2022.
Mei is on the official records of the United States, Mexico City, Argentina, Chile, France, England and Wales, Canada, Austria, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 45,000
In the United States, 483 babies were named Mei between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Mei peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Mexico City City
1 in 24,000
In Mexico City, there were 5 registrations of Mei 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
Argentina
1 in 29,000
In Argentina, 23 newborns were given the name Mei 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
Chile
1 in 30,000
In Chile, 6 girls were registered as Mei in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
France
1 in 43,000
In France, about 15 girls named Mei were born in 2025, ranked 2,069th among girls 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 Mei, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
England and Wales
1 in 45,000
In England and Wales, 13 girls named Mei were born in 2025, ranked 2,138th 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
Canada
1 in 61,000
In Canada, 6 girls named Mei were born in 2024, ranked 3,027th 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)
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Mei was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 1 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)
Spain
1 in 78,000
In Spain, 578 residents are named Mei, ranked 2,069th among women, with a mean age of 21.8 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, 290 people in Brazil were named Mei, ranked 19,518th, with a median age of 42.
Among people named Mei living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1970s 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
Ireland
last on record 2019
Mei is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Montevideo City
last on record 1985
Mei 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
Poland
last on record 2013
Mei 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)
Scotland
last on record 1977
Mei is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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
South Australia
last on record 2014
Mei is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 2 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
Not on the record in Puerto Rico and New Zealand: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
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 Mei
Most people given the name Mei in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Japanese Brazilian baby names · Chinese baby names · Cantonese and Hong Kong baby names · Japanese baby names · Short names
The Mei deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Mei 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 Mei fits with your family’s names and surname.
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