Mayes
From Old English, meaning "the prosperous or successful one".
Name Census estimates that about 158 living Americans carry the first name Mayes. It is a predominantly male name (97.0% of registrations). The average person named Mayes today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mayes births was 2020 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mayes. 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
158
~ 1 in 2,169,331 Americans
Peak year
2020
16 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,081
Tracked since 1914
Census
Mayes in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 176 people with the first name Mayes, which placed it at #41,537 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#41,537
National first-name rank
People counted
176
176 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mayes
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mayes is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Hispanic (8.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Mayes described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Mayes at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.9% · 123
- Black or African American11.9% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino8.0% · 14
- Two or more races6.8% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Mayes
Mayes leans heavily male at 97.0% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Mayes as a male name
- Ranked #7,081 in 2024
- 12 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (16 births)
Mayes as a female name
- Ranked #18,621 in 2012
- 5 female births in 2012
- Peak: 2012 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mayes on both sides of the split. Of the 175 people counted with this name, 139 were male (79.4%) and 36 were female (20.6%).
Popularity
Mayes: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mayes from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 83 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Mayes remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mayes 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 Mayes during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mayes' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mayes
The name Mayes is believed to have its origins in the Welsh language, with roots dating back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Welsh word "maesu," which means "to enclose" or "to surround," likely referring to a person who lived near an enclosed area or fortification.
In its earliest recorded form, the name appeared as "Maes" or "Maesse" in ancient Welsh genealogical records and historical manuscripts from the 12th and 13th centuries. These records often documented the lineages and family histories of prominent Welsh chieftains and nobility.
One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Red Book of Hergest, a 14th-century Welsh manuscript that contains various texts and poems from the medieval period. The name "Maes" is mentioned in several genealogical lists and literary works within this manuscript.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mayes. One of the earliest recorded was Maes ap Cadwallon (c. 1150-1220), a Welsh warrior and landowner from Powys, who played a role in the conflicts between Welsh princes and the Norman invaders during the late 12th century.
Another prominent figure was Sir Mayes de Lacy (c. 1280-1345), an English knight and landowner who served as a military commander during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century.
In the 16th century, Mayes Morgan (c. 1510-1570) was a Welsh poet and bard known for his poetic works in the Welsh language, contributing to the rich literary tradition of Wales during the Renaissance period.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, Mayes Wynn (1620-1680) was a Welsh landowner and supporter of the Parliamentarian cause, playing a role in the conflicts between the Royalists and Parliamentarians in Wales.
In the 18th century, Mayes Vaughan (1720-1795) was a Welsh clergyman and scholar who served as the vicar of several parishes in Wales and authored several theological works.
These examples illustrate the long-standing presence of the name Mayes across various historical periods and contexts, from medieval warriors and landowners to poets, clergymen, and military figures, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and history associated with this name.
People
Mayes + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mayes 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
Mayes: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mayes?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 158 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mayes 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 2,169,331 US residents.
Is Mayes a common name?
We classify Mayes as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 169 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mayes most popular?
The single biggest year for Mayes was 2020, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mayes is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mayes in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 176 people with the name Mayes, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,537 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Mayes in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Mayes?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mayes on both sides of the split. Of the 175 people counted with this name, 139 were male (79.4%) and 36 were female (20.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Mayes?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mayes is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Hispanic (8.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Mayes most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mayes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.9% (123 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Mayes in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mayes a male name?
Yes, 97.0% of people registered as Mayes in the SSA data are male. 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.
Is Mayes still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mayes in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Mayes can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are named Mayes?
Find out how many Americans are named Mayes on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.