Girls' name · since 1880
Mai
5,677 babies named Mai in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1990. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #2,361 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #3,000 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 5,677
- born since 1880
- 1990s
- peak decade
5,677 babies have been named Mai since 1880, making it today's #3000 girls' name.
Mai has 5,677 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #3000 as of the latest data, more common than 83% of girls, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #2,361 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #3,000 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 5,677 born since 1880
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Mai ranks #2,361 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #3,000 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 5,677 born since 1880, peaking in the 1990s.
- #2,361 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #3,000 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 5,677
- born since 1880
- 1990s
- peak decade
Mai's 5,677 recorded births place it above 96.73% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
20 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Mai compares
5,677 Top 13% higher than 87% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Mai's all-time total is 15x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Mai | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 5,677 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 254 | 21 | 19,840 |
Mai's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Mai's SSA record in two at 1965 and the more recent half accounts for 90% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 10%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1890, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1990 peak of 254, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Mai popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1990)
- 254
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Mai popularity over time - boys
20 total births recorded since 1984 (Mai as boys' name)
Mai by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (1,656 births, 29% of the file).
1990s was Mai's strongest decade.
1,656 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 29% of all-time use.
Mai births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 12
1880s
12 births
- 1890s 30
1890s
30 births
- 1900s 29
1900s
29 births
- 1910s 83
1910s
83 births
- 1920s 128
1920s
128 births
- 1930s 94
1930s
94 births
- 1940s 45
1940s
45 births
- 1950s 77
1950s
77 births
- 1960s 107
1960s
107 births
- 1970s 252
1970s
252 births
- 1980s
1980s
1,586 births
- 1990s
1990s
1,656 births
- 2000s
2000s
746 births
- 2010s 516
2010s
516 births
- 2020s 316
2020s
316 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 1,656 births (29% of all-time use).
How Mai compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Mai's total volume
Mai by state
Where Mai concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 1,704 | 30.0% |
| #2 | Minnesota | | 508 | 8.9% |
| #3 | Wisconsin | | 387 | 6.8% |
| #4 | Tennessee | | 233 | 4.1% |
| #5 | Texas | | 200 | 3.5% |
| #6 | New York | | 144 | 2.5% |
| #7 | Louisiana | | 35 | 0.6% |
| #8 | Pennsylvania | | 34 | 0.6% |
1,704 of 5,677 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 20 reporting states.
Mai appears in 20 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Mai? ▼
Where does Mai sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Mai most popular? ▼
Where is Mai most popular? ▼
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What names are similar to Mai? ▼
What to do with Mai's data
- Mai's decade-level peak was the 1990s (1,656 total births); usage has since declined to 316 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Mais (1,704 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Mai
Nearby Names Like Mai
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Mai
Compare Mai side by side: Mai vs Maia Mai vs Maisie Mai vs Maira
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Mai
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Mai: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1990)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Mai draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.