Popularity of the last name by country

New Zealand

All countries

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’.

Learn more