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Mai as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Mai

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The baby name Mai is a Female name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced {'Vietnamese': "/maj/ (approx. 'my')", 'Japanese': '/mai/ (ma-i, two mora)', 'Mandarin Chinese (surname Mài)': '/maɪ̂/ (fourth tone in Mandarin)', 'English': "/maɪ/ or /meɪ/ ('my' or 'may')", 'Arabic': '/maɪ/ or /maːj/ (varies regionally)'}.

Mai is Arabic, Chinese, English, Japanese, Vietnamese in Origin.

Gender: Female
Syllables: 1.0
Origin: Arabic, Chinese, English, Japanese, Vietnamese
Pronunciation: {'Vietnamese': "/maj/ (approx. 'my')", 'Japanese': '/mai/ (ma-i, two mora)', 'Mandarin Chinese (surname Mài)': '/maɪ̂/ (fourth tone in Mandarin)', 'English': "/maɪ/ or /meɪ/ ('my' or 'may')", 'Arabic': '/maɪ/ or /maːj/ (varies regionally)'}

What is the meaning of the name Mai ?

The baby name Mai is a Female name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced {'Vietnamese': "/maj/ (approx. 'my')", 'Japanese': '/mai/ (ma-i, two mora)', 'Mandarin Chinese (surname Mài)': '/maɪ̂/ (fourth tone in Mandarin)', 'English': "/maɪ/ or /meɪ/ ('my' or 'may')", 'Arabic': '/maɪ/ or /maːj/ (varies regionally)'}.

Mai is Arabic, Chinese, English, Japanese, Vietnamese in Origin.

Mai is a cross-cultural, primarily feminine name with several independent roots. In Japanese, it can be written with kanji such as 舞 “dance,” 麻衣 “hemp garment,” 真愛 “true love,” or 舞衣 “dance robe,” and became a fashionable girls’ name from the late 20th century. In Vietnamese, Mai denotes the yellow apricot blossom (hoa mai), a symbol of spring and good luck at Tết, and also occurs as a family name.

In the Arabic-speaking world, Mai/May (مي) is a traditional given name often interpreted as “water.” In parts of Northern and Eastern Europe - especially Scandinavia and Estonia - Mai serves as a vernacular form of May, the month-name used in English since the 19th century. Variants and relatives include May, Mae, Mei (Chinese), and Maj (Scandinavian). Depending on origin, meanings span “dance,” “linen garment,” “spring blossom,” and “water.”

Mai has the following similar or variant Names

Celebrity babies named Mai

Name Last Name(s) Mother Mother famous for Fame Level Father Father famous for Fame Level
Mai Fujisawa Joe Hisaishi film director ★★★★★

Mai – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Ireland Girls 2025 #1 — 874
KH Boys 0 #9 1 270
BF 0 #10 1 188
JP Girls 0 #13 618 6,592
KR Girls 0 #15 1 572
EG Girls 0 #16 56,526 14,742
BF Girls 0 #17 1 315
MV Girls 0 #18 18 2,021
JP 0 #19 63 4,057
KR Boys 0 #27 1 897
BN 0 #30 3 2,297
NA 0 #32 2 2,537
EG 0 #33 2,555 6,387
MO Girls 0 #34 358 7,056
EE 0 #36 2 1,051
MO 0 #51 2 2,706
SD Girls 0 #52 1,011 7,678
BN Girls 0 #54 54 5,459
CM 0 #56 1 2,592
QA 0 #60 41 7,011
SD 0 #61 44 2,130
PH 0 #64 33 5,607
JO Girls 0 #72 940 7,570
QA Girls 0 #72 339 15,378
MV Boys 0 #77 3 3,375
SI 0 #79 2 1,612
CN 0 #86 1 3,857
JO 0 #87 53 2,158
KW 0 #91 26 5,216
SA Girls 0 #92 2,722 25,931
AF Girls 0 #94 1 2,402
GE Girls 0 #94 11 1,564
ID Girls 0 #98 5 3,319
TW 0 #99 5 4,523
PS Girls 0 #100 968 10,981
OM 0 #103 14 6,215
KW Girls 0 #105 614 19,177
HU 0 #114 2 1,675
EE Girls 0 #118 21 1,888
Norway Girls 2025 #121 6 453
AE Girls 0 #122 594 20,968
AE 0 #123 55 10,220
BW Girls 0 #123 26 4,216
BN Boys 0 #124 10 6,332
EE Boys 0 #124 2 2,087
CY Girls 0 #125 1 3,755
SA 0 #128 183 10,560
IQ 0 #129 5 3,533
Switzerland Girls 2024 #134 2 1,786
ID Boys 0 #134 2 4,130
PA 0 #138 1 3,797
LT Boys 0 #150 2 2,166
MT Girls 0 #152 2 3,773
BW Boys 0 #153 2 4,685
IL Girls 0 #160 920 11,648
CR 0 #161 5 5,526
DK 0 #164 40 5,198
PR Girls 0 #167 1 3,171
PS 0 #170 49 5,692
DK Girls 0 #171 170 7,429
Sweden Girls 2021 #174 10 1,666
AR 0 #175 12 2,915
UY 0 #177 6 2,477
CZ 0 #178 9 3,154
HR 0 #181 1 2,081
LU Girls 0 #188 3 4,850
RU 0 #194 1 3,641
OM Girls 0 #195 210 15,987
MY Girls 0 #199 1,767 24,821
SG Girls 0 #199 574 18,916
MO Boys 0 #200 24 5,842
PH Girls 0 #204 201 13,098
SI Boys 0 #206 6 3,402
NA Girls 0 #207 18 7,146
IL 0 #212 63 6,291
PL 0 #212 1 2,600
AO Girls 0 #217 1 4,575
BG Boys 0 #220 1 3,850
HU Girls 0 #221 5 3,308
SG 0 #222 48 11,010
IR 0 #224 8 4,221
AL Girls 0 #227 1 4,141
TW Boys 0 #227 15 7,111
TW Girls 0 #228 49 8,139
BD 0 #238 4 5,992
EC Boys 0 #245 2 3,322
GR Girls 0 #248 2 6,293
AO Boys 0 #249 1 5,568
PT 0 #250 1 4,161
NA Boys 0 #253 1 6,830
EC Girls 0 #258 1 3,650
EG Boys 0 #258 1,491 15,035
MY 0 #258 73 12,352
HR Boys 0 #259 1 3,997
SY 0 #260 885 11,684
AF Boys 0 #268 7 3,535
Canada Girls 2023 #270 10 2,824
NG 0 #271 2 5,926
JM Boys 0 #293 1 6,876
KZ Boys 0 #293 4 6,578
CN Boys 0 #296 24 9,639
JP Boys 0 #296 8 7,909
AL Boys 0 #298 6 5,122
CZ Boys 0 #301 5 6,530
KZ Girls 0 #309 12 5,862
CN Girls 0 #310 40 8,829
CZ Girls 0 #315 27 5,378
YE 0 #320 62 8,639
Finland Girls 0 #324 69 1,368
GH Girls 0 #335 3 6,973
GT 0 #337 2 5,948
HK 0 #338 11 8,483
PL Boys 0 #339 2 6,459
BR 0 #358 3 5,969
JO Boys 0 #358 20 7,057
PL Girls 0 #358 7 5,096
MU Girls 0 #359 4 8,539
GH Boys 0 #361 1 8,138
NL 0 #377 15 2,481
Spain 0 #378 75 2,326
PT Boys 0 #381 1 7,951
Germany 0 #386 52 2,542
CL 0 #390 22 6,867
France Girls 2021 #400 6 3,185
BD Girls 0 #401 6 8,413
LY 0 #401 137 12,703
MX 0 #402 12 8,339
PH Boys 0 #402 7 11,440
BO 0 #403 6 6,868
Austria Girls 0 #404 17 1,885
AR Girls 0 #407 217 8,289
UY Boys 0 #409 5 5,922
RU Girls 0 #410 89 11,913
ZA 0 #418 30 14,421
SD Boys 0 #421 25 10,523
BH 0 #425 129 17,937
HK Girls 0 #430 189 16,104
IQ Girls 0 #432 73 11,303
Finland Girls 2026 #433 457 3,895
UY Girls 0 #440 71 6,731
AR Boys 0 #457 11 7,628
CO 0 #459 22 7,768
PT Girls 0 #464 8 7,952
CR Boys 0 #465 23 10,188
PA Girls 0 #472 10 9,861
CM Girls 0 #474 67 11,671
RU Boys 0 #474 32 12,621
HK Boys 0 #485 43 12,905
GT Girls 0 #492 14 7,500
GT Boys 0 #494 6 7,625
PA Boys 0 #497 9 9,305
IR Girls 0 #503 28 8,334
PS Boys 0 #513 36 10,655
CR Girls 0 #515 18 11,342
CM Boys 0 #518 33 12,054
Spain Girls 0 #532 540 5,561
Germany Girls 0 #554 313 4,949
BD Boys 0 #556 21 10,045
IR Boys 0 #557 9 10,162
IL Boys 0 #572 36 10,983
BO Girls 0 #595 17 9,488
SG Boys 0 #603 95 17,960
TN 0 #603 243 13,765
IN Girls 0 #610 22 13,121
BO Boys 0 #617 6 9,244
LB 0 #626 33 13,263
CL Boys 0 #638 28 13,390
IQ Boys 0 #650 18 13,071
QA Boys 0 #685 23 18,093
IT 0 #691 24 4,183
CL Girls 0 #719 133 14,098
NG Boys 0 #719 241 16,906
DZ 0 #733 484 20,130
KW Boys 0 #743 27 18,755
NG Girls 0 #755 32 15,093
BR Boys 0 #779 7 12,213
NL Girls 0 #784 172 5,933
CO Boys 0 #785 136 15,656
ZA Girls 0 #808 347 25,928
MY Boys 0 #823 296 25,439
OM Boys 0 #850 32 17,948
PE Boys 0 #865 14 14,506
United States Girls 2024 #868 49 8,487
Germany Boys 0 #886 67 5,697
Spain Boys 0 #886 45 5,610
BR Girls 0 #888 54 12,708
CO Girls 0 #891 188 16,140
NL Boys 0 #912 40 5,873
PE Girls 0 #916 28 14,861
MX Boys 0 #953 30 16,355
IN Boys 0 #955 47 16,750
MA 0 #957 172 20,986
AE Boys 0 #1,045 48 22,615
MX Girls 0 #1,067 117 17,781
TR 0 #1,122 90 19,440
ZA Boys 0 #1,160 19 25,619
IT Girls 0 #1,275 172 9,415
SA Boys 0 #1,390 225 28,008
IT Boys 0 #1,431 41 10,046

Mai is popular in 90 countries — most recent births per country:

Norway
France
Canada
United States
Ireland

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People also ask about Mai

Mai is predominantly a girl's name.
Mai is a one syllable name, pronounced {'Vietnamese': "/maj/ (approx. 'my')", 'Japanese': '/mai/ (ma-i, two mora)', 'Mandarin Chinese (surname Mài)': '/maɪ̂/ (fourth tone in Mandarin)', 'English': "/maɪ/ or /meɪ/ ('my' or 'may')", 'Arabic': '/maɪ/ or /maːj/ (varies regionally)'}.
Common nicknames and spelling variations include May, Mae, Mei, Maï, Mái and 舞 (Japanese kanji).
Across languages, Mai has these equivalents: May (English), Mei (Chinese/Japanese, often 'plum' or similar meanings), Mái / Mài (Chinese surname 麦), Mai (Japanese given name — various kanji forms).
Yes, very popular — Mai ranked #1 in Ireland in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 8 countries.
Mai ranks highest in Ireland (#1 in 2025).
Mai's popularity is rising. It moved from #127 in 2016 to #121 in 2025 in Norway.
Yes — at least 1 celebrity couple has chosen Mai for their child, including Joe Hisaishi.