May

May Meaning & Origin

About May
The surname May is of English and Scottish origin and has multiple meanings. It can be derived from the Old English word "maeg," meaning "kinsman" or "relative," suggesting that the name was originally used to denote someone's familial relationship. Alternatively, it may have originated from the Old English word "mai," meaning "maiden" or "young woman," and could have been a nickname for someone who was youthful or unmarried. Additionally, the surname May can be a variant of the Scottish surname MacBeth, derived from the Gaelic name "MacBheatha," meaning "son of life." Overall, the surname May has various possible origins and meanings, depending on its specific linguistic roots and historical context.

🌍 Origin
πŸ“ Surname Length
πŸ’¬ Number of Syllables
πŸ”  Starting Letter
Discover Your Ancestry with 23andMe Logo

Discover Your Ancestry with 23andMe

Explore your ancestry and health insights with exclusive savings.

Save 15%-60% this holiday season

Popularity

Surname Popularity by Ethnicity

The surname May holds a prominent position in our records, ranking within the top 500. Here's an in-depth look at its popularity and demographic spread:

  • Number of People with the name May: 103,306
  • Overall Popularity: 0.04%
  • Ranking: 304
  • Frequency per 100k people: 35.02

Below is the ethnic distribution of the surname May based on recent US Census records. This is a brief glimpse into the diverse backgrounds of people carrying this surname.

Ranking information for the surname May is not currently available.

Pronunciation

πŸ“‡ Metaphone
M
πŸ—½ NYSIIS
MNA
πŸ”Š Soundex
M000
🎡 Syllabic Pronunciation
M EY1
🌐 IPA
/meΙͺ/
πŸ”Š Double Metaphone
('M', '')
🈯 Cross-Lingual Phonetic
M000

Accessibility & Communication

How to write the name May in Braille

Here's how to represent May in Braille, each pattern of raised dots corresponds to a letter in the name.

The name May in braille

How to sign the name May using Sign Language

The image below shows how you can spell May using American Sign Language (ASL). In sign language, each hand shape corresponds to a specific a letter of the name.

The name May in sign language

Numerology