Girl name · Japanese
Mai
Name meaning, origin and popularity
: dance (depends on characters)Mai is a girl's name that comes from Japanese and means "dance (depends on characters)". It is used in Japanese.
- Meaning
- Dance (depends on characters)
- Origin
- Japanese
- Gender
- Girl
- US rank
- #3016 in 2025
Meaning and origin of Mai
As a girl's name, Mai comes from Japanese and means "dance (depends on characters)". It is used in Japanese.
Mai is also a surname: the 1,630th most common in the 2020 US Census, held by 21,383 people. See the most common last names.
Meanings come from published name dictionaries, led by Behind the Name. How we research names
How to write Mai in Japanese
In hiragana, Mai is まい. In kanji it can be written several ways, and each choice gives the name its own meaning. These are spellings used for the name, with what each kanji means.
| Kanji | Reading | What the kanji mean |
|---|---|---|
| 舞 | まい | 舞 dance |
| 麻衣 | まい | 麻 hemp, flax + 衣 garment, robe |
| 真衣 | まい | 真 true, reality + 衣 garment, robe |
Kanji and readings from the JMnedict and KANJIDIC2 dictionaries (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0), checked by our editors.
Mai on Nomezo lists
What our editors wrote about Mai on 3 lists.
“舞: dance. Graceful and quick to say”
From Anime girl names, cute anime girl names
“Dance; also 麻衣. Meaning depends on kanji.”
From Japanese girl names, japanese girl names meaning love, hope and kindness
“梅, plum or apricot blossom. Say my”
From Vietnamese names, vietnamese girl names from flowers and nature
How popular is Mai?
- US rank in 2025
- #3,016
- 55 babies, 34 per million girls
- Best rank
- #792 in 1881
- Most babies: 254 in 1990
- Babies since 1880
- At least 5,677
- Years with under 5 are not listed
| 1880s | 9 per million |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 14 per million |
| 1900s | 10 per million |
| 1910s | 10 per million |
| 1920s | 11 per million |
| 1930s | 9 per million |
| 1940s | 3 per million |
| 1950s | 4 per million |
| 1960s | 6 per million |
| 1970s | 16 per million |
| 1980s | 92 per million |
| 1990s | 92 per million |
| 2000s | 40 per million |
| 2010s | 29 per million |
| 2020s | 32 per million |
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,311 | #4,277 | #3,087 | #3,205 | #3,257 | #2,910 | #3,017 | #3,210 | #3,261 | #3,016 |
Source: US Social Security Administration baby-name data, 1880 to 2025, as published in 2026. Each spelling is counted separately, a name given to fewer than 5 babies of one sex in a year is left out, and few people born before 1937 have records, which is why the chart shows babies per million rather than raw counts.
Names spelled like Mai
One or two letters apart, but from a different root: they look alike without sharing a meaning.
- MaiaGood mother (Greek, girl)
- MaeThe month of May; also a pet form of Mary or Margaret (English, girl)
- MakiTrue hope, written 真希 (Japanese, girl)
- MamiTrue beauty (depends on characters) (Japanese, girl)
- MarSea (Latin, girl)
- MariTruth (Japanese, girl)
- MeiBeautiful; plum blossom (depends on characters) (Chinese, girl)
- MaudStrength in battle (Germanic, girl)
- MariaGreek and Latin form of Miriam, of uncertain meaning (Hebrew, girl)
Names with a similar meaning
- ProkhorLeader of the dance (Greek, boy)
Middle names for Mai
Picked from our middle-name lists with a different first letter and a longer length, so the full name flows.
More girl names from Japanese
- AiLove; indigo (depends on characters) (Japanese, girl)
- AikoBeloved child (depends on characters) (Japanese, girl)
- AimiLove and beauty, written 愛美 (Japanese, girl)
- AkaneDeep red, madder (Japanese, girl)
- AkariLamplight (depends on characters) (Japanese, girl)
- AkemiBright beauty (Japanese, girl)
- AkiSecond and hope, written 亜希 (Japanese, girl)
- AkikoBright child; autumn child (depends on characters) (Japanese, girl)
- AkiraBright, clear (depends on characters) (Japanese, unisex)
- AmaneHeavenly sound (depends on characters) (Japanese, unisex)
Mai: common questions
What does the name Mai mean?
Mai comes from Japanese and means "dance (depends on characters)".
Is Mai a boy or girl name?
Mai is mainly a girl's name.
Where does the name Mai come from?
Mai comes from Japanese and means "dance (depends on characters)". Today it is used in Japanese.
How do you write Mai in Japanese?
Mai is written まい in hiragana. Kanji spellings include 舞 (dance), 麻衣 (hemp + garment) and 真衣 (true + garment). The kanji parents choose decide what the name means.
How popular is the name Mai?
Mai ranked #3,016 in the US in 2025, with 55 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.
What names are similar to Mai?
Names spelled like Mai include Maia, Mae, Maki, Mami and Mar.
What middle names go with Mai?
Middle names that flow well with Mai include Agnes, Aurora, Belle, Elise and Esmeralda. A different first letter and a contrasting length usually sound best.