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Home › Baby Names Directory › Mei

Mei

♀ Girl

Pronounced MAY /ˈmeɪ/Low

Meaning: Chinese name meaning 'beautiful' or 'plum blossom', depending on the character used.Low

In 30 seconds: Mei is a Chinese girls' name meaning 'beautiful' or 'plum blossom', depending on the character written. It is short, soft, and widely loved.
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Origin LowChinese, Japanese
MeaningChinese name meaning 'beautiful' or 'plum blossom', depending on the character used.
U.S. rank (2025)#1744 ↗ Rising
2025 U.S. births117 girls (0.01% of U.S. girls)
Peak year2025
Total births (all-time)≈ 1,858

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 202519472025

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

The meaning shifts with the Chinese character used: one reads as 'beautiful', another as 'plum blossom', a flower prized in Chinese culture. Both senses are common, so a single sound can carry either image. It is a long-established, genuinely Chinese name rather than a Western borrowing.

The single gentle syllable makes Mei easy to pair and easy to say across languages. It appears on public figures such as Mei Nagano, and its plum-blossom sense ties it to a flower long celebrated in East Asian art.

Did you know? The meaning attached to Mei is 'beautiful' or 'plum (blossom)', and that core idea is what gives the name most of its long-term appeal.
Overall data confidence 55%
Behind the Name - Mei — etymology, usage, pronunciation, and related formsU.S. Social Security Administration — 2024 popularity rank and count supplied in the batch input CSV

Variations

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Nicknames

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Famous Bearers

  • ★Mei Nagano (1999–present)
    Female public figure listed on Behind the Name.

If you like Mei…

Lian— another short Chinese girls' name with floral meaning
Mia— a close-sounding short name easy to connect with Mei
Mai— another Japanese name
Kai— a fellow Japanese choice
Koi— shares Mei's Japanese roots

Explore names like Mei

By meaningFlowerBeauty

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Mei mean?

Mei means 'beautiful' or 'plum (blossom)' depending on the character, and is most often linked with Chinese and Japanese tradition.

How do you pronounce Mei?

It's commonly said MAY /ˈmeɪ/.

Is Mei a boy or girl name?

In this batch and in recent U.S. usage data, Mei is used as a girl name.

How popular is Mei?

In 2024, Mei ranked #1960 in the U.S. for girls, with 101 births recorded.

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