Explore the Family Name Mey

The meaning of Mey

1. English, Irish, Dutch, and German: variant of May or Mei. 2. English and Irish: variant of Mee. 3. German: habitational name from Mey in Lorraine. Some characteristic forenames: German Helmuth, Horst, Udo, Ulli, Wilhelmina.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Mey in the United States?

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Mey has increased in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Mey was ranked as the 26,538th most commonly held surname, increasing to the 24,352nd spot by 2010. This represents an 8.24% rise in rank. The count of individuals with the surname also rose from 864 to 1,029 over this decade, a growth rate of 19.1%. Meanwhile, the proportion of people named Mey per 100,000 people increased by 9.38%, from 0.32 to 0.35.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#26,538	#24,352	8.24%
Count	864	1,029	19.1%
Proportion per 100k	0.32	0.35	9.38%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Mey

The Decennial U.S. Census data also provides insights into the ethnic identities associated with the surname Mey. The percentage of Mey individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander notably grew from 36.92% to 46.55% from 2000 to 2010. Those reporting two or more races dropped significantly, from 5.79% to 1.36%. The proportion of white individuals with this surname decreased slightly, from 55.09% to 48.40%. The Hispanic population with the Mey surname saw a significant increase, from 0.81% to 1.94%. The proportion of Black individuals went up from 0.81% to 1.17%. There was no change reported for American Indian and Alaskan Native individuals who share the surname.

	2000	2010	Change
White	55.09%	48.4%	-12.14%
Asian/Pacific Islander	36.92%	46.55%	26.08%
Hispanic	0.81%	1.94%	139.51%
Two or More Races	5.79%	1.36%	-76.51%
Black	0.81%	1.17%	44.44%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.58%	0.58%	0%