How rare is the name Mei?

11,596 people in the United States have the first name Mei, about 1 in 26,046. It ranks #2,249 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

MEI

#2,249

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
11,596
About
1 in 26,046
This common or more
79.1%
Who bears it

Of the 11,596 people named Mei, 92.1% reported their origin as Asian or Pacific Islander, 3.7% as two or more races and 2.1% as White. 97.8% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Mei peaked in 2025, when 117 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19472025
Peak year
2025
Births that year
117
In 2025*
117
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 1,859 babies have been given the name since 1947. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Mei by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2020s, when it ranked #4,099. The largest share of babies named Mei, 46%, were born in 2013 or later.

1940s#9,52318
1950s#11,50216
1960s#10,11337
1970s#7,822110
1980s#8,191136
1990s#8,321191
2000s#6,413385
2010s#5,794483
2020s#4,099483
Baby boom 1946–643.2%
Generation X 1965–807.5%
Millennials 1981–9613.3%
Generation Z 1997–1230%
2013 and later46%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Either side of Mei

#2,247 Jacques · 11,599#2,248 Zahra · 11,597#2,250 Elida · 11,577#2,251 Coleman · 11,573

Spelled almost the same

7 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Mei, most common first.

#3,578 Me · 5,741#5,525 Mee · 3,088#8,892 Mea · 1,601#20,072 Mey · 518#22,641 Meia · 438#34,440 Meh · 237#48,840 Meo · 129

Also a last name

As a last name, Mei ranks #3,578 of 156,621, with 9,725 people. See Mei as a last name

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