May has the potential and momentum to catapult up the charts. The question is, will she? Or will her sound-alike sister name Mae surge ahead? In honor of May Day, I decided to do a deep dive on this springy, spunky, and seasonal name. Stay safe!
Why is May so great?
May is the embodiment of short and sweet. Not only does her history sprout from possible honor names, she’s also balancing on the verge of being a sweet spot name.
May has hidden in the shadows of month names June, April and August, some of which have lost their vintage touch thanks to modern popularity, unlike May. The fresh mini moniker ages well, and has the vintage yet spunky touch of Beatrice and Bernadette without the length.
Famous namesakes who’ve flaunted this diminutive of Mary/Margaret include May Parker, the human persona of Spider-girl, May Robson, an American based actress, and Mae Jemison, the female astronaut who boasts the alternative spelling of this underused treasure.
Despite not making an appearance in the top 1000 girls names in the US for almost half a century, the month makes this name a real simple one to spell, unlike other rare gems that have dodged the popularity charts. Plus, she originates as one of the many diminutives of the Greek name Margaret and the Hebrew moniker Mary, so grandma Peggy and Auntie Mary will get the honor she deserves, and your daughter will get a name all her own. Better yet, if you take advantage of it, May and the wildly popular late 20th century Amy share the same three letters, which also presents the potential to pass on a part of your name to your daughter without using the dreaded “Jr.” or forcing your daughter to feel like the only Bernice in a room full of Everlys. Adding on to the topic of potential honors for the name May, the monthly tie can honor your mom born in the month of May without bestowing Geraldine on your little girl.
This seasonal treasure packs an undeniable energy and meaning into just three letters, and is definitely one to watch.
Sounds great! But why isn’t it more popular?
Despite having the qualities and the potential to take the name game by storm, I have my theories about what’s holding May back in terms of reaching the top 1000, 100, and 10.
For one, May lacks any nicknames, due to her fun-size form, which can weigh a name in pursuit of the top 1,000 down. Besides “May-Day” and “Pumpkin Cookie Dough Snowdrop”, May is pretty restrictive when it comes to customization through nicknames for a child if they ever wish to reinvent themselves in that way. For some parents, no freedom with nicknames can be a deal breaker. Yet when you look in the US top ten, you don’t find many names that are incredibly nickname-rich. Names such as Liam, Noah, Mason, and Logan don’t have a clear nickname. So if nicknames aren’t necessarily a requirement for the top ten, then what is it that’s keeping May out of fame with parents?
Another thought stems from the origins of the name. We do know that May is the name of a month, and I would expect that the average person would first associate May with the month as opposed to the name. Because June and Autumn and August are all established as names, naming a baby born in spring Autumn wouldn’t be considered strange. But naming a baby a rarer name, like May or November, when their birthday is in January… that seems a bit odd. And even then, naming your child the month they were born in seems kind of peculiar as well. May born in May and May born in June are both a bit bizarre. But it is rare that upon meeting someone, your daughter will share her birthday. So I’ve come up with one last thing that I think is preventing May from rising to join June and August in widespread popularity: her status as a filler middle.
Although I’ll get into filler middles more in depth in another post, I’ll lay down a brief definition here. A filler middle is a middle name that is thrown in with no meaning and little thought. Often, a filler middle is looked on as overused, such as Grace, Joy, James, and Ann, but they can be completely unrelated to popularity as well. Either way, May/Mae is often used as a filler middle, at least in my age group. Because it is a popular middle name, it’s possible that it gets often overlooked for the first name spot, especially because of its old-fashioned nature.
As you’ve probably already recognized, May is also spelled Mae, which ranked #554 in the 2018 data for US girls. Most likely more popular because it is more distanced from the month and the Margaret roots, Mae is significantly more popular and thought of as a more current version of the vintage and dusty May, and also thought of as a more “full” version of the name.
On the topic of the pettiness of the name, grown-up May may have to answer the same inconvenient, “So is May your FULL name?” every time she meets new people or shows her passport at the airport terminal. Having a short, abrupt, nickname-like name does have its disadvantages, and May is no exception. In fact, May’s origins as a nickname for Mary/Margaret might be what’s promoting her alternative spelling and pushing her fall to the bottom. It’s very difficult for two spellings of one name to thrive and coexist without one defeating the other, and the case of Mae and May is consistent with that trend.
Predictions for May:
I fear that parents will continue to spring for Mae over May due to its separation from both the month, the filler middle stigma, and the old lady stereotype. But just because other people don’t pick it doesn’t mean you can’t. For some, lack of popularity is a good thing, and a rare gem like May is something to celebrate. Personally, I find this name charmingly vintage and sweet. And hey, what’s wrong with Pumpkin Cookie Dough Snowdrop anyway?
~Delphina Moon
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