# Mei (surname)

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

A surname from Mandarin.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chinese |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 7,867 |
| US rank (2010) | 4,510 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 39,246 people |
| Change since 2000 | +64% (4,794 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /meɪ/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

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

## Who carries it

Share of people named Mei 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) | 6.4% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 92% |
| Two or more races | 0.6% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Mei in the United States.

## People named Mei

- Mai Tai Sing, actor (1923-2018)

## Similar surnames

Mee, Meh, Mey, May, Mayo, Ma, Moya, Mai, Moua, Moe, Maya, Mayhew.

## 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.