May is an English feminine given name. It is derived from the name of the month, which comes from Maia, the name of a Roman fertility goddess.
It can also be a variant of the Arabic name Mai مي, which either means water or little gazelle.
Contents
People
Women
Mary of Teck (1867–1953), queen consort of George V, King of the United Kingdom. She was informally referred to as "May".
May Allison (1890–1989), American actress
May Allison (runner) (born 1964), Canadian runner
May Arida (1926–2018), Lebanese socialite
May Arslan (1928–2013), member of the Lebanese Arslan family
May Britt (1934–2025), Swedish actress
May Bukhari (born 1999), British social media influencer
May Chidiac (born 1964), Lebanese journalist and politician
May Chow, Canadian chef
Beryl May Dent (1900–1977), English mathematical physicist
May Elghety (born 1998), Egyptian actress
May Gibbs (1877–1969), Australian children's author and illustrator
May Golan (born 1986), Israeli politician, political activist and commentator
May Hezlet (1882–1978), British amateur golfer and sports writer
May Hollinworth (1895–1968), Australian theatre producer and director
May J. (born 1988), Japanese singer
May Kassab (born 1981), Egyptian artist
May Maple (1914–2012), electrical engineer, president of the Women's Engineering Society
May McAvoy (1899–1984), American actor
May A. Moir (1907–2001) American floral designer, orchid breeder, botanical collector, and horticulturalist
May Mourning Farris McKinney (1874–1959), American non-profit executive
May Mikati, wife of Najib Mikati, Lebanese prime minister
May W. Newburger (1920–2012), New York politician
May Robson (1858–1942), Australian actress
May Sarton (1912–1995), American poet and novelist
May Sayegh (1940–2023), Palestinian poet and activist
May Scaff (1969–2018) Syrian actress and activist
Lady May Abel Smith (1906–1994), a member of the British royal family
May Erwin Talmadge (1885–1973), American civic leader and 19th President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution
May Thai (born 1997), Italian nude model
May Tha Hla, Anglo-Burmese psychologist and activist
May Whitty (1865–1948), English actress
May Yarrowick (1876–1949) Australian Aboriginal mid-wife
May Ziadeh (1886–1941), Lebanese-Palestinian poet and writer
Men
May (governor), Ancient Egyptian official
May (noble), Ancient Egyptian Royal chancellor
Fictional characters
May, one of the main characters in Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Merchant's Tale"
Aunt May, Spider-Man's aunt and primary caregiver
May Bellamy, girlfriend of John Dortmunder in novels by Donald E. Westlake
May, a character from the 1988 movie 14 Going on 30
May, localize version of Mii, main character in Jungle de Ikou!
May, in the show Sid the Science Kid
May Kanker, youngest of the Kanker sisters in the animated series Ed, Edd n Eddy
May Kasahara, in Haruki Murakami's novel The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
May Lee (The King of Fighters), in The King of Fighters fighting game series
Melinda May, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent played by Ming-Na Wen in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and subsequently appearing in Marvel comics
May (Guilty Gear), a character in the Guilty Gear video game series
May, an American Pekin duck from the Donald Duck universe
May, protagonist of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire who appears as a rival instead if the player picks her male counterpart Brendan. An anime counterpart with the same name appears in the Pokémon TV series