Mae is a spelling of May, which began as a short form of Mary and Margaret and later came to be understood as the month of "May", named for the Roman goddess Maia. The actress Mae West and the astronaut Mae Jemison, the first Black woman in space, are its most famous American bearers. Mae re-entered the US top 1000 in 2010 and has edged upward since, reaching number 501 in 2025, its highest rank in this century.