May

Where May comes from

From Middle English May, Mai, from Old French mai, from Latin Maius (“Maia's month”), from Maia, a Roman earth goddess.
— Wiktionary's entry for May
  • 1 syllable
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1858
    May Robson born
    Australian-born American actress
  2. 1865
    May Whitty born
    English actress
  3. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #57 among girls — 462 babies in the first year on record.
  4. 1883
    Peak, #57
    532 babies named May — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1939
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #423.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name, usually pet name for Mary and Margaret, reinforced by the month and plant meaning.
Namesakes
  • May Whitty · English actress, 1865–1948
  • May Robson · Australian-born American actress, 1858–1942
  • May Calamawy · Egyptian-Palestinian actress, born 1986
  • May McAvoy · American actress, 1899–1984
  • May Sutton · US tennis player, 1886–1975

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.