# Mei (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/mei/  
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 | Chinese |
| Meaning | “beautiful” |
| Pronunciation | /meɪ/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 1,859 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 0 / 1,859 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 369, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Mandarin 美 (měi, “beautiful”), a common Chinese given name among women.

## What it means

Mei is grouped under beauty.

## 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 | 39 | 3,888 |
| 2012 | 39 | 3,968 |
| 2013 | 46 | 3,443 |
| 2014 | 49 | 3,306 |
| 2015 | 44 | 3,576 |
| 2016 | 55 | 3,046 |
| 2017 | 52 | 3,124 |
| 2018 | 65 | 2,672 |
| 2019 | 61 | 2,777 |
| 2020 | 65 | 2,619 |
| 2021 | 66 | 2,628 |
| 2022 | 55 | 3,018 |
| 2023 | 79 | 2,328 |
| 2024 | 101 | 1,961 |
| 2025 | 117 | 1,744 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 11 | 2,275 |
| 2012 | 12 | 2,215 |
| 2013 | 9 | 2,649 |
| 2014 | 20 | 1,501 |
| 2015 | 15 | 1,865 |
| 2016 | 18 | 1,689 |
| 2017 | 13 | 2,090 |
| 2018 | 15 | 1,887 |
| 2019 | 17 | 1,703 |
| 2020 | 17 | 1,687 |
| 2021 | 15 | 1,866 |
| 2022 | 11 | 2,325 |
| 2023 | 13 | 2,063 |
| 2024 | 10 | 2,574 |
| 2025 | 13 | 2,138 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3 | 4,789 |

## People named Mei

- Jessie Mei Li, English actress
- Mei Li Vos, Dutch politician, trade unionist and editorialist
- Hu Mei, Chinese director, television director and producer
- Han Mei, Chinese female speed skater
- Vanessa-Mae, British violinist

## 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.