May - Meaning of May

What does May mean?

Pronounce
May

[ 1 syll. may, ma-y ] The baby boy name May is also used as a girl name, with the latter form being much more common. It is pronounced as MEY- †. The origin of May is Germanic. May is a variant of the name Maynard (English).

See also the related category germanic (german).

May is unusual as a baby name for boys. Its usage peaked in 1902 with 0.007% of baby boys being given the name May. Its ranking then was #778. The baby name has since declined in popularity, and is currently of very modest use. Among all boy names in its group, May was nonetheless the most popular in 2018. May has in the past century been predominantly given to girls. In 1903, girls named May outnumbered boys by 36 times.

Baby names that sound like May include Mai (Chinese), Maine, Maioh, Man (English), Mayne, Meir, Millà (Catalan), Millán, Min (Czech), Mío, Mo (English), Moe (English), Momme (German), Mon (English), Moon, Moone, Moy (English), Moyo, Mu (Chinese), and Mumme (German).

† English pronunciation for May: M as in "me (M.IY)" ; EY as in "ate (EY.T)"