# Mays (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/mays/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 40,408 |
| US rank (2010) | 854 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 7,641 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.8% (38,914 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /meɪz/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* As an English surname, variant of Mayes. * As a German surname, variant of Mais. * As a Dutch surname, from a short form of Thomas.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Mays in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 55% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 40% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Mays in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Mays

- Jayma Mays, American actress
- Willie Mays, American baseball player (1931–2024)
- Tristin Mays, American actress
- Lyle Mays, American jazz musician (1953–2020)
- Daniel Mays, British actor
- Jefferson Mays, American actor
- Skylar Mays, American basketball player (born 1997)
- Carl Mays, American baseball player
- James Henry Mays, American politician (1868-1926)

## Similar surnames

Maas, Maes, Massa, Macy, Maus, Masse, Masi, Mass, Meas, Maass, Mas, Mayse.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.