# Maeve (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/maeve/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Irish |
| Meaning | “intoxicating” |
| Pronunciation | /meɪv/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Medbh |
| US babies named this | 29,608 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 0 / 29,608 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 7,195, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Anglicized form of the Irish Méabh, from Middle Irish Medb (literally “intoxicating”) and Meadhbh in Medieval irish. The name of a legendary queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 489 | 591 |
| 2012 | 571 | 532 |
| 2013 | 625 | 485 |
| 2014 | 648 | 487 |
| 2015 | 703 | 452 |
| 2016 | 820 | 406 |
| 2017 | 867 | 360 |
| 2018 | 973 | 334 |
| 2019 | 1,303 | 244 |
| 2020 | 1,644 | 174 |
| 2021 | 2,253 | 124 |
| 2022 | 2,676 | 103 |
| 2023 | 3,062 | 73 |
| 2024 | 3,105 | 75 |
| 2025 | 3,153 | 76 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 51 | 744 |
| 2012 | 60 | 690 |
| 2013 | 57 | 699 |
| 2014 | 61 | 652 |
| 2015 | 67 | 620 |
| 2016 | 66 | 638 |
| 2017 | 77 | 560 |
| 2018 | 84 | 507 |
| 2019 | 225 | 218 |
| 2020 | 547 | 94 |
| 2021 | 654 | 77 |
| 2022 | 990 | 48 |
| 2023 | 1,114 | 36 |
| 2024 | 1,265 | 26 |
| 2025 | 1,330 | 26 |

## People named Maeve

- Maeve Quinlan, American actress
- Maeve Dermody, Australian actress
- Maeve Plouffe, Australian cyclist
- Meave Leakey, British paleoanthropologist

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.