May

May meaning and name origin

May \may\ as a girl's name is pronounced may. It is of English origin, and the meaning of May is "the fifth month". The month of May was named for Maia, the Roman earth goddess. Also a short form of the names Matthew and Mary. Also a Sanskrit word meaning "illusion". See also Mai. Actress Mae West; writer Maya Angelou; poet May Sarton.

May has 12 variant forms: Mae, Maelee, Maelynn, Maia, Maj, Mala, Maya, Mayana, Maye, Mayleen, Maylene and Mei.

For more information, see also related names Annemae, Claramae, Ellamae and September.

Baby names that sound like May are Mya, Moya, Mayah, Maiya, Mo, Miya, Miah, Mia, Meya and Mea.

View a list of the 156 names that reference May.

Popularity of May

May is a very popular first name for women (#472 out of 4276) and also a very popular surname or last name for all people (#264 out of 88799). (1990 U.S. Census)

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