Mee
A diminutive name of uncertain origin, possibly from the English word "me".
Name Census estimates that about 325 living Americans carry the first name Mee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mee today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mee births was 1983 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mee. 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
325
~ 1 in 1,054,629 Americans
Peak year
1983
30 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1996 SSA rank
#8,601
Tracked since 1925
Census
Mee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,082 people with the first name Mee, which placed it at #5,532 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
#5,532
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,082 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mee is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.0%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and Black (1.5%). 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 Mee 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 Mee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.0% · 2,929
- White2.1% · 65
- Black or African American1.5% · 47
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 31
- Two or more races0.3% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Popularity
Mee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mee from the 1920s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 207 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Mee remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mee 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 Mee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Minnesota, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Mee, while Wisconsin, Minnesota, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 52 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mee
The name Mee has its origins in ancient Chinese culture, dating back to the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC). It is derived from the Chinese word "mei," which means "beautiful" or "plum blossom." This name was often given to girls, symbolizing grace, elegance, and natural beauty.
In ancient Chinese literature, the name Mee appeared in various poems and stories, often used to describe the loveliness of a woman or the delicate beauty of nature. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the classic work "The Book of Songs," which dates back to the 6th–7th century BC.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mee. In the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), Mee Shang was a renowned poet and calligrapher, known for her mastery of the art form and her contribution to the literary world. Her works were widely celebrated and have been preserved for centuries.
During the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD), Mee Ling was a skilled painter and artist, renowned for her intricate brushwork and ability to capture the essence of nature on canvas. Her paintings were highly sought after and are still considered masterpieces of Chinese art today.
In the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD), Mee Fei was a influential scholar and philosopher. Her writings on Confucianism and ethical teachings had a profound impact on the intellectual discourse of her time, and her ideas continue to be studied and discussed by scholars around the world.
Moving forward in history, Mee Kwan was a respected artist and educator in the late 19th century. She was one of the first Chinese women to receive formal art training and played a significant role in promoting traditional Chinese art techniques and styles.
Another notable figure was Mee Sook, a Korean independence activist and writer who lived in the early 20th century. She was a vocal advocate for women's rights and played a crucial role in the Korean independence movement against Japanese occupation.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Mee throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the cultural and intellectual legacy of their respective eras.
People
Mee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mee 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
Mee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 325 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mee 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 1,054,629 US residents.
Is Mee a common name?
We classify Mee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 365 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mee most popular?
The single biggest year for Mee was 1983, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mee is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,082 people with the name Mee, or 1.02 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,532 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 Mee 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 Mee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mee leans strongly female. 2,866 people counted with this name were female (92.8%), compared with 222 male bearers (7.2%). 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 Mee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mee is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.0%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and Black (1.5%). 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 Mee most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Mee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.0% (2,929 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 Mee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mee 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.
Is Mee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mee 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 Mee 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 common is the name Mee?
See how many people share the name Mee on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.