Feminine dossier · first seen 1880
May
Resurgent
Gaining cultural share
Peak era
1919
Peak births
981
Current vitality
Fragile
Peak generation
Greatest Generation
Quick answers about May
How many people are named May?
An estimated 8,681 living Americans are named May.
How rare is May?
May is uncommon among babies today, with 183 girls receiving the name in 2025, down 81.3% from its 1919 peak.
How old is the typical May?
The median age of a living American named May is approximately 42 years, with most bearers falling between 18 and 65 years old.
Is May still popular?
Yes — May is currently rising in popularity, with 183 births in 2025. Births this decade are running about 1.4× higher than the previous decade.
Where is May most common?
May has its strongest geographic signal in Hawaii, where it appears 14.1× more often than the national baseline.
1880Peak 19192025
Peak year
1919
Decline from peak
81.3%
2025
183
All-time
49,400
Where it lives now
May is most concentrated in Hawaii — about 11.6× the national rate in the 1950s.
States where May is given more often than the national average — its present-day heartland.