Popularity of the last name by country
New Zealand
- Auckland (10,453)
- Wellington (6,114)
- Canterbury (5,154)
- Otago (5,079)
- Manawatu Wanganui (2,039)
- Nelson (867)
- Waikato (704)
- Taranaki (644)
- Gisborne (522)
- West Coast (508)
- Marlborough (373)
- Bay of Plenty (272)
- Northland (200)
- Southland (155)
- Hawke's Bay (3)
- Tasman (2)
All countries
- United States (339,845)
- United Kingdom (239,592)
- France (155,707)
- Germany (64,672)
- New Zealand (33,678)
- Australia (33,147)
- Ireland (12,993)
- Canada (12,099)
- Austria (9,364)
- Unknown country (9,245)
- Switzerland (7,070)
- Netherlands (3,867)
- Hungary (3,636)
- Romania (3,364)
- Luxembourg (3,060)
- Belgium (2,647)
- Spain (2,345)
- Denmark (2,193)
- Brazil (1,315)
- Italy (1,306)
- Poland (1,207)
- Mexico (728)
- Sweden (624)
- Czech republic (617)
- Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (544)
- Colombia (528)
- Algeria (524)
- Russian Federation (465)
- India (406)
- Latvia (376)
- Argentina (288)
- China (265)
- Portugal (246)
- Norway (244)
- Martinique (227)
- Greece (208)
- Indonesia (208)
- Peru (182)
- Cuba (168)
- Jamaica (163)
Origine of last name
MAY : 1: English: from the Middle English male personal name May a pet form of <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/Matthew">Matthew</a> (see <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/Mayhew">Mayhew</a>).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 <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/Mee">Mee</a>.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 <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/Dumay">Dumay</a> and <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/Lemay">Lemay</a>.7: French: from an old vernacular form of the Latin personal name <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/Marius">Marius</a> (see <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/Mario">Mario</a>).8: Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from Mayen a place in western Germany.9: Americanized form of Polish and Jewish (from Poland) <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/Maj">Maj</a> ‘May’ a cognate of 2 above.10: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surnames 麥 (see <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/Mai">Mai</a> 2) and 梅 (see <a href="https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/Mei">Mei</a> 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’.
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