Mame
An English feminine name meaning "mother" or "grandmother".
Name Census estimates that about 414 living Americans carry the first name Mame. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mame today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mame births was 2002 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mame. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
414
~ 1 in 827,909 Americans
Peak year
2002
29 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,809
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Mame: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mame from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 187 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mame by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Mame during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mames live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, Georgia, Maryland recorded the most babies named Mame, while Maryland, Georgia, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mame
The name Mame has its origins in French culture and language. It is a diminutive form of the French name Marie, which in turn derives from the Hebrew name Miriam. The name Miriam is believed to have been derived from the ancient Egyptian words "mr" meaning "beloved" and "iamm" meaning "sea of bitterness."
In the Middle Ages, the name Mame was a popular French variant of Marie. It was often used as a term of endearment for loved ones, particularly grandmothers. The name gained widespread recognition in the Western world through the novel "Auntie Mame" by Patrick Dennis, published in 1955, and the subsequent Broadway play and film adaptations.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mame can be found in the 13th-century French poem "Roman de la Rose." In this work, the character of a young woman named Mame is portrayed as a symbol of beauty and virtue.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mame. Mame Adjoua (1928-2021) was a renowned Ivorian singer and actress, renowned for her contributions to the traditional music of Côte d'Ivoire. Mame Diarra Bousso (1976-) is a Senegalese activist and politician, known for her work in promoting women's rights and gender equality.
Mame Maḥmūd Gāmī (1506-1589) was a Sufi saint and scholar from Gujrat, India, who wrote extensively on Islamic mysticism. Mame Kumba Siddibe (1835-1896) was a Senegalese warrior and leader of the Serer people, renowned for her bravery in battles against French colonial forces.
Mame Ndiayu Mbaye (1951-) is a Senegalese author and academic, recognized for her contributions to Francophone literature and her advocacy for women's education in West Africa.
People
Mame + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mame as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mame: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mame?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 414 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mame going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 827,909 US residents.
Is Mame a common name?
We classify Mame as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 649 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mame most popular?
The single biggest year for Mame was 2002, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mame is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mame a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mame in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.