girls' name ★ peaked 1918

Mae

Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #501 Trend ↑ Rising 13%

Mae is a feminine given name primarily used in English-speaking countries.

Rank 2025
#501
among girls · ↑28 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
594
named Mae · +3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,706
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1918
2,769 babies
All-time total
115,441
#339 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Mae popularity over time

115,441 babies have been named Mae since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 5,647 5 5,652 565 – #57
1890s 10,918 30 10,948 1,095 +94% #52
1900s 12,711 56 12,767 1,277 +17% #53
1910s 21,530 104 21,634 2,163 +69% #65
1920s 22,760 146 22,906 2,291 +6% #99
1930s 12,859 139 12,998 1,300 -43% #137
1940s 8,947 85 9,032 903 -31% #185
1950s 5,542 36 5,578 558 -38% #287
1960s 2,172 – 2,172 217 -61% #517
1970s 830 – 830 83 -62% #1,033
1980s 606 – 606 61 -27% #1,509
1990s 654 – 654 65 +8% #1,673
2000s 1,714 – 1,714 171 +162% #1,065
2010s 4,427 – 4,427 443 +158% #549
2020s (to 2025) 3,518 5 3,523 587 +33% #501

Where Mae is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 604 0.38 #490
2027 613 0.38 #488
2028 620 0.39 #484
2029 627 0.39 #482
2030 632 0.39 #482

Where Mae is most popular

Girls named Mae per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.371 per 1,000. Strongest in District of Columbia, Maine, and Utah.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Mae born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
District of Columbia 16 1.35 +264%
Maine 18 1.16 +214%
Utah 92 1.11 +198%
Idaho 32 0.956 +158%
South Dakota 13 0.911 +146%
Massachusetts 109 0.902 +143%
Connecticut 51 0.877 +137%
Nebraska 30 0.835 +125%
Minnesota 87 0.806 +118%
Iowa 47 0.804 +117%
Kansas 45 0.780 +110%
Colorado 82 0.735 +98%
Wisconsin 71 0.689 +86%
Illinois 157 0.686 +85%
Michigan 121 0.664 +79%
Alabama 62 0.660 +78%
Oregon 42 0.645 +74%
Mississippi 29 0.620 +67%
Ohio 138 0.582 +57%
Pennsylvania 136 0.575 +55%
Rhode Island 7 0.559 +51%
Missouri 67 0.556 +50%
Louisiana 48 0.548 +48%
Washington 75 0.519 +40%
Virginia 81 0.475 +28%
Indiana 64 0.456 +23%
Maryland 47 0.444 +20%
Arizona 62 0.442 +19%
New York 157 0.396 +7%
South Carolina 35 0.389 +5%
New Hampshire 7 0.379 ≈ national
Arkansas 19 0.360 ≈ national
Georgia 77 0.339 -9%
Tennessee 53 0.335 -10%
North Carolina 76 0.334 -10%
New Jersey 56 0.310 -16%
Oklahoma 20 0.272 -27%
Texas 200 0.249 -33%
California 205 0.244 -34%
Nevada 11 0.237 -36%
Florida 99 0.231 -38%
New Mexico 5 0.206 -45%
Kentucky 11 0.129 -65%
Alaska – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Mae

Mae is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #501 in 2025 with 594 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 115,441 American babies have been named Mae. Its peak came in 1918, when 2,769 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1910s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Mae stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Mae?

The median living Mae is about 67 years old; half are between 13 and 80. An estimated 28 thousand people named Mae are alive in the United States today.

median 67 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Mae year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 594 #501 – –
2024 578 #529 – –
2023 599 #506 5 #13,433
2022 614 #511 – –
2021 622 #502 – –
2020 511 #576 – –
2019 556 #549 – –
2018 561 #553 – –
2017 461 #640 – –
2016 535 #579 – –
2015 513 #588 – –
2014 413 #686 – –
2013 419 #676 – –
2012 373 #749 – –
2011 337 #804 – –
2010 259 #979 – –
2009 240 #1,065 – –
2008 230 #1,124 – –
2007 208 #1,208 – –
2006 207 #1,177 – –
2005 175 #1,279 – –
2004 151 #1,385 – –
2003 119 #1,622 – –
2002 140 #1,382 – –
2001 112 #1,637 – –
2000 132 #1,409 – –
1995 61 #2,204 – –
1990 59 #2,190 – –
1985 56 #1,961 – –
1980 79 #1,509 – –
1975 86 #1,297 – –
1970 120 #1,033 – –
1965 189 #722 – –
1960 347 #519 – –
1955 575 #367 9 #2,893
1950 737 #287 8 #2,937
1945 854 #225 14 #1,900
1940 1,018 #185 6 #3,336
1935 1,267 #160 15 #1,892
1930 1,650 #137 18 #1,789
1925 2,332 #116 17 #1,979
1920 2,730 #99 14 #2,295
1915 2,486 #89 13 #2,133
1910 1,453 #65 8 #1,273
1905 1,284 #60 10 #823
1900 1,406 #54 10 #884
1895 1,193 #52 5 #1,190
1890 920 #58 6 #956
1885 578 #63 5 #1,030
1880 344 #71 – –

Famous people named Mae

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Mae Whitman Mae Whitman American actor (born 1988) Contemporary
  2. 2 Mae West Mae West American actress (1893–1980) 19th century
  3. 3 Mae Jemison Mae Jemison American astronaut, doctor and engineer (born 1956) Contemporary
  4. 4 Mae Questel Mae Questel American actress (1908–1998) Contemporary
  5. 5 Mae Young Mae Young American professional wrestler (1923–2014) Contemporary
  6. 6 Mae Clarke Mae Clarke American actress (1910–1992) Contemporary
  7. 7 Mae Marsh Mae Marsh American actress (1894–1968) 19th century
  8. 8 Mae Busch Mae Busch Australian-born American actress (1891–1946) 19th century
  9. 9 Mae Murray Mae Murray Actress, dancer, film producer, screenwriter (1885–1965) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Mae, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Mae?

The median living Mae is about 67 years old. Half of all living Maes are between 13 and 80 years old.

How many people named Mae are alive today?

An estimated 28 thousand people named Mae are alive in the United States, based on 115,441 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Mae mean?

Mae is a feminine given name primarily used in English-speaking countries.

How popular is the name Mae in 2025?

Mae ranked #501 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 594 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Mae?

115,441 babies have been named Mae in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Mae most popular?

Mae peaked in 1918, when 2,769 newborns received the name.

Is Mae a boy or girl name?

Mae is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Mae rising or falling?

Mae is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Mae become more popular?

Mae looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 632 girls named Mae in 2030, ranking around #482. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Mae?

Well-known people named Mae include Mae Whitman (actor), Mae West (actor), Mae Jemison (astronaut).

Names like Mae

Names that sound and feel close to Mae: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Mae with similar names → More names starting with M →