The baby name Li May is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /liː meɪ/ (LEE-MAY).
The baby name Li May is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /liː meɪ/ (LEE-MAY).
Li May is Chinese, Latin in Origin.
Li May blends Chinese and English naming traditions. Li may represent the Chinese surname 李 (“plum”) or a given-name syllable such as 丽/莉/立 (lì; “beautiful,” “jasmine,” “establish”), while May often anglicizes the Chinese Mei (美/梅; “beautiful,” “plum blossom”) or functions as the English name May from the month (via the Roman Maia) and a diminutive of Mary or Margaret. Meaning varies by characters, commonly evoking beauty, plum blossoms, or jasmine.
Used among Chinese diaspora communities since the early 20th century, the compound appears in forms like Li Mei, Li-May, Limei, and Lee May; Cantonese and other dialects favor Lee/Lei. In English contexts it is pronounced LEE-may. The hyphen helps signal a single given name rather than surname-plus-given-name order. Related variants include Mei Li/Meili (reversed order) and May Li/May-Lee; vintage English May also informs its cross-cultural appeal.
Li May is seldom given. We count 12 recorded uses of it across 2 countries.
Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.
| Country | Gender | Year | Rank | Born | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SG | Girls | 0 | #631 | 2 | 18,916 |
| MY | Girls | 0 | #985 | 10 | 24,821 |
Did we miss something about this name? Let us know!