Mae is a feminine given name primarily used in English-speaking countries. Often regarded as a variant of May, it is associated with the Roman goddess Maia, symbolizing spring, growth, and fertility. The name gained popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is frequently used as a vintage-style given or middle name. Mae also serves as a diminutive for several longer names, including Mary (from Hebrew, meaning "beloved" or "bitter"), Margaret (from Greek, meaning "pearl"), and Mabel (from Latin amabilis, meaning "lovable"). In some cases, it is used as a modern or anglicized form of the Irish name Maeve, derived from Old Irish Medb, meaning "she who intoxicates" or "mead-woman."
Mae may refer to:
Contents
People
Singers
Mae Moore, Canadian singer
Mae Muller (born 1997), English singer
Mae Stephens (born 2003), English singer
Actors
Mae Bramhall (c.1861–1897), American actress and writer
Mae Busch (1891–1946), Australian actress
Mae Clarke (1910–1992), American actress
Mae Marsh (1894–1968), American movie actress
Mae Martin (born 1987), Canadian comedian and actor
Mae Murray (1885–1965), American silent film actress
Mae Questel (1908–1998), American actress
Mae West (1893–1980), American actress (after whom are named a variety of otherwise unrelated items)
Mae Whitman (born 1988), American actress
In other fields
Mae Batherson (born 2000), Canadian ice hockey player
Mae Brussell (1922–1988), American radio personality
Mae Carroll Fry, American politician and schoolteacher
Mae Jemison (born 1956), the first African-American woman to travel to space
Mae Schmidle (1927–2019), American politician
Mae Schunk (born 1934), the 45th Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
Mae Woughter Strack (died 1941), American nurse and artist
Mae Tischer (1928–2018), American politician
Fictional characters
Daisy Mae Duke, a character in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard
Mae the Panda Fairy, a character and in the self-titled novel in the series Rainbow Magic
Mae Borowski, a character in the video game Night in the Woods
Mae Holland, a character in the novels The Circle and The Every and the former's film adaptation
Mary Mae Ward, a character in the soap opera General Hospital