girls' name ★ peaked 1990

Mai

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #3,016 Trend → Stable

A female given name, a rare spelling variant of Mae/May, or borrowed from Scandinavia, with the same ultimate origin.

Rank 2025
#3,016
among girls · ↑245 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
55
named Mai · +12% vs 2024
How common
1 in 29,223
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1990
254 babies
All-time total
5,697
#2,361 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Mai popularity over time

5,697 babies have been named Mai 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
0.040.080.110.1518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 12 – 12 1 – #792
1890s 30 – 30 3 +150% #1,335
1900s 29 – 29 3 -3% #1,256
1910s 83 – 83 8 +186% #2,080
1920s 128 – 128 13 +54% #2,068
1930s 94 – 94 9 -27% #2,258
1940s 45 – 45 5 -52% #3,274
1950s 77 – 77 8 +71% #3,608
1960s 107 – 107 11 +39% #3,157
1970s 252 – 252 25 +136% #2,072
1980s 1,586 20 1,606 161 +537% #798
1990s 1,656 – 1,656 166 +3% #795
2000s 746 – 746 75 -55% #2,159
2010s 516 – 516 52 -31% #2,857
2020s (to 2025) 316 – 316 53 +2% #2,910

Where Mai 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 55 0.03 outside top 500
2027 56 0.03 outside top 500
2028 56 0.04 outside top 500
2029 57 0.04 outside top 500
2030 57 0.04 outside top 500

Where Mai is most popular

Girls named Mai per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.033 per 1,000. Strongest in California, Texas, and New York.

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 Mai 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
California 51 0.061 +84%
Texas 43 0.053 +62%
New York 18 0.045 +38%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Florida – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Ohio – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
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 Mai

Mai is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #3,016 in 2025 with 55 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 5,697 American babies have been named Mai. Its peak came in 1990, when 254 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

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 Mai stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Mai?

The median living Mai is about 33 years old; half are between 22 and 39. An estimated 5,200 people named Mai are alive in the United States today.

median 33 020406080100

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

Mai 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 55 #3,016 – –
2024 49 #3,261 – –
2023 51 #3,210 – –
2022 55 #3,017 – –
2021 58 #2,910 – –
2020 48 #3,257 – –
2019 50 #3,205 – –
2018 53 #3,087 – –
2017 34 #4,277 – –
2016 49 #3,311 – –
2015 46 #3,460 – –
2014 55 #3,066 – –
2013 55 #3,031 – –
2012 55 #3,070 – –
2011 61 #2,857 – –
2010 58 #2,962 – –
2009 76 #2,500 – –
2008 79 #2,434 – –
2007 69 #2,669 – –
2006 75 #2,472 – –
2005 84 #2,194 – –
2004 74 #2,335 – –
2003 81 #2,159 – –
2002 63 #2,517 – –
2001 74 #2,207 – –
2000 71 #2,228 – –
1995 165 #1,085 – –
1990 254 #795 – –
1985 173 #917 9 #4,552
1980 71 #1,630 – –
1975 24 #3,015 – –
1970 18 #3,518 – –
1965 11 #4,102 – –
1960 6 #6,113 – –
1955 11 #3,703 – –
1950 8 #4,182 – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 13 #2,386 – –
1930 15 #2,258 – –
1925 14 #2,564 – –
1920 15 #2,425 – –
1915 12 #2,483 – –
1910 – – – –
1905 5 #2,122 – –
1900 – – – –
1895 6 #1,524 – –
1890 5 #1,451 – –
1885 – – – –
1880 6 #804 – –

Famous people named Mai

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

  1. 1 Mai Zetterling Mai Zetterling Swedish actress (1925–1994) Contemporary
  2. 2 Mai Nakahara Japanese voice actress and singer (born 1981) Contemporary
  3. 3 Mai Kuraki Mai Kuraki Japanese J-pop singer (born 1982) Contemporary
  4. 4 Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim German chemist, science communicator, television presenter and YouTuber b. 1987 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Mai Charoenpura Mai Charoenpura Thai singer and actress (born 1969) Contemporary
  6. 6 Mai Hagiwara Mai Hagiwara Japanese apparel designer and former singer (born 1996) Contemporary
  7. 7 Mai Kyokawa Japanese footballer b. 1993 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Mai Aizawa Japanese footballer (born 1980) Contemporary
  9. 9 Mai Nakachi Japanese footballer b. 1980 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Mai?

The median living Mai is about 33 years old. Half of all living Mais are between 22 and 39 years old.

How many people named Mai are alive today?

An estimated 5,200 people named Mai are alive in the United States, based on 5,697 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Mai mean?

A female given name, a rare spelling variant of Mae/May, or borrowed from Scandinavia, with the same ultimate origin.

How popular is the name Mai in 2025?

Mai ranked #3,016 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 55 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Mai?

5,697 babies have been named Mai in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Mai most popular?

Mai peaked in 1990, when 254 newborns received the name.

Is Mai a boy or girl name?

Mai is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Mai rising or falling?

Mai has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Mai become more popular?

Mai looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 57 girls named Mai in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Mai?

Well-known people named Mai include Mai Zetterling (actor), Mai Nakahara (actor), Mai Kuraki (musician).

Names like Mai

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

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