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At a Glance
- Meaning
- Beautiful
- Origin
- Chinese (Mandarin)
- Gender
- Girl
- Pronunciation
- MAY
Mei is a girl's name of Chinese (Mandarin) origin, pronounced MAY, and it means "beautiful." It has a clean, modern feel with a nature-inspired, outdoorsy, worldly streak. You may see it said that Mei also means "plum blossom," but that half is a mix-up: the plum blossom meaning belongs to a different, similar-sounding character (梅) used mostly as a surname, while the given name comes from 美, "beautiful."
Meaning & Origin of Mei
Meaning: Beautiful.
Origin: Chinese (Mandarin).
A common claim: Mei means 'beautiful' and 'plum blossom' Actually: The 'plum blossom' half is a mix-up: it belongs to a separate, similarly-sounding character (梅) used mostly as a surname, not the root of the given name, which is 美 ('beautiful').
Source: Wiktionary, Wikipedia.
How to Pronounce Mei
MAYIPA /ˈmeɪ/
Popularity of Mei
Mei ranked #1960 in 2024 with 101 babies given the name, and that is also its highest rank in the Social Security data, which runs from 1947 to 2024. It has never been more popular than it is right now.
Names Like Mei
These names share Mei’s style, era or origin.
FAQ
What does the name Mei mean?
Beautiful. (Source: Wiktionary)
How do you pronounce Mei?
Mei is pronounced MAY (IPA: /ˈmeɪ/).
Is Mei a popular name right now?
Mei is at its highest recorded popularity right now, ranked #1960 in 2024. (U.S. Social Security Administration data, 1947–2024.)
Make Mei Name Art
Free printable nursery art for Mei, pre-loaded below — pick a layout, palette, and font, then download a print-ready PNG.
📊 How popular is Mei? See the full popularity history, trend data, and ranking since 1880 with our free Baby Name Popularity Checker.
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