Explore the Family Name May
The meaning of May
1. English: from the Middle English male personal name May, a pet form of Matthew (see Mayhew). 2. English, Dutch, and German: from a personal name or nickname taken from the month of May (Middle English, Old French mai, Middle High German meie, from Latin Maius (mensis), from Maia, a minor Roman goddess of fertility). This name was sometimes bestowed on someone born or baptized in the month of May; it was also used to refer to someone of a sunny disposition, or who had some anecdotal connection with the month of May, such as owing a feudal obligation then. In England, this name was possibly also a pet form of Mary or Margaret. This surname is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine) and Denmark. 3. English: nickname from Middle English mey, may ‘kinsman’. 4. English: occupational name from Middle English mei, Old French mege, meie ‘physician’, a side form of Mee. 5. Irish (Connacht and Midlands): when not of English origin (see 1–4 above), this is an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Miadhaigh ‘descendant of Miadhach’, a personal name or byname meaning ‘honorable, proud’. 6. French: habitational name from any of various places called (Le) May. Compare Dumay and Lemay. 7. French: from an old vernacular form of the Latin personal name Marius (see Mario). 8. Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from Mayen, a place in western Germany. 9. Americanized form of Polish and Jewish (from Poland) Maj ‘May’, a cognate of 2 above. 10. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surnames 麥 (see Mai 2) and 梅 (see Mei 1). This form occurs more often for the personal name than for the surname. 11. Amerindian (Mexico): Mayan name, from maay ‘cloven hoof’, by extension also ‘young deer’. History: Cape May, at the mouth of Delaware Bay, is named after the Dutch explorer Cornelius Jacobsen May.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name May in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname "May" has experienced a shift in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, "May" was ranked as the 270th most popular surname, however, by 2010 its rank had dropped to 304th, indicating a decrease of 12.59%. Despite the drop in rank, the actual number of individuals with the surname increased from 101,726 in 2000 to 103,306 in 2010, a growth of 1.55%. This increase is reflected in the proportion per 100,000 people, which dropped slightly from 37.71 in 2000 to 35.02 in 2010, representing a 7.13% decrease.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #270 | #304 | -12.59% |
| Count | 101,726 | 103,306 | 1.55% |
| Proportion per 100k | 37.71 | 35.02 | -7.13% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name May
The Decennial U.S. Census data also provides insights into the ethnic identity associated with the surname "May". The data indicates that the majority of individuals with this surname identify as White, making up 83.55% of the population in 2010, down from 85.54% in 2000. The second largest ethnic group is Black, accounting for 9.57% in 2010, a slight increase since 2000. Notably, there has been significant growth within the Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander populations, with these groups growing by 51.24% and 29.79% respectively between 2000 and 2010. Additionally, the proportion of those identifying as two or more races has grown by 34.04%, while the American Indian and Alaskan Native group has seen a 10.61% increase. Some data was suppressed for privacy reasons.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 85.54% | 83.55% | -2.33% |
| Black | 9.45% | 9.57% | 1.27% |
| Hispanic | 2.01% | 3.04% | 51.24% |
| Two or More Races | 1.41% | 1.89% | 34.04% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.94% | 1.22% | 29.79% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.66% | 0.73% | 10.61% |
May ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname May is British & Irish, which comprises 51.3% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (24.8%) and Eastern European (5.0%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Ashkenazi Jewish, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Nigerian.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 51.3% |
| French & German | 24.8% |
| Eastern European | 5.0% |
| Other | 18.9% |
Possible origins of the surname May
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name May have recent ancestry locations in United Kingdom and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 84.20% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 84.20% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 84.20% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 84.00% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 83.50% |
What May haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname May is I-Z58, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-Z58 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include R-P311 and R-L46, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Smith, Baker, White, Hill, Fox, Brown, Clark, Taylor, Green, Miller.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with May surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins I-M170
Your paternal lineage may be linked to Alexander Hamilton
Early in the morning on July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr (then Vice President of the United States) and Alexander Hamilton (founder of the U.S. Treasury) dueled on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. This marked the culmination of a bitter personal and political rivalry between the two men. Alexander Hamilton died as a result of the duel, but his intellectual legacy survives in the founding documents of the nation he helped build. A piece of his genetic legacy survives as well: in the 21st century, genealogists documented the paternal haplogroups of dozens of Hamilton's living descendants and concluded that the Founding Father's paternal haplogroup was a branch of I-DF29.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname May have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"May" Surname 42.7%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"May" Surname 26.5%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"May" Surname 24.7%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"May" Surname 17.6%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name May?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname May are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition