2000
#7,642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,012
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.49
Rare Last name
Maye
Derived from the Old English given name "Maeg," meaning "relative" or "kinsman."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,823 Americans carry the last name Maye. That puts it at #7,604 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.41 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 71,067 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Maye surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Maye with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.8K
1 in 71,067
Census rank
#7,604
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,206 bearers of the surname Maye in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.41 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7604th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Maye, the largest self-reported group is Black at 55.8%. The next largest groups are White (33.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Maye
The surname Maye originated in England during the late medieval period, derived from the Old English word "maew" or "mayo", meaning a male relative or kinsman. It was initially used as a descriptive name to refer to a male relative or distant cousin.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Maye can be traced back to the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where it appears as "Richard le Maye" in Huntingdonshire. This suggests that the name was well-established in England by the 13th century.
The surname Maye is also found in various early records, including the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1301, which mention "Hugh Maye", and the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, listing "Walter le Maye".
In the 14th century, the surname Maye appeared in the form "Mayow" in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1381, where a certain "John Mayow" was mentioned. This spelling variation highlights the evolution of the name over time.
One notable figure from history bearing the surname Maye was Sir Robert Maye (c. 1480-1558), a prominent English merchant and Member of Parliament for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis during the reign of King Henry VIII.
Another prominent individual was John Maye (c. 1590-1660), an English clergyman who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1648 to 1652 and was a staunch Royalist during the English Civil War.
In the 17th century, the surname Maye was also found in the form "May" in various records, such as the Hearth Tax Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1665, which listed "William May" as a landowner in the village of Kidlington.
A notable figure from this period was Baptist May (1629-1698), an English nonconformist minister and writer who published several religious works, including "A Little Treatise of the Last Judgment" in 1693.
Moving into the 18th century, the surname Maye continued to be found in various records, including the parish registers of St. Mary's Church in Weymouth, Dorset, where a certain "John Maye" was baptized in 1712.
One prominent individual from this era was William Maye (1734-1815), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War and later became a Member of Parliament for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis.
Throughout its history, the surname Maye has been associated with various places and locations in England, including Huntingdonshire, Yorkshire, Worcestershire, Essex, Oxfordshire, and Dorset, reflecting the widespread distribution of the name across different regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maye
Among Census respondents with the surname Maye, the largest self-reported group is Black at 55.8%. The next largest groups are White (33.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Maye bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Maye surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American55.8% · 2,345
- White33.0% · 1,388
- Two or more races5.0% · 210
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 209
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Maye
Maye appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#7,621
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,356
+344 bearers (+8.6%)
Per 100,000 1.48
Rank movement Up 21 places
2020
#7,604
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,206
-150 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 1.41
Rank movement Up 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,642 | 4,012 | 1.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,621 | 4,356 | 1.48 | +344 bearers (+8.6%) | Up 21 places |
| 2020 | #7,604 | 4,206 | 1.41 | -150 bearers (-3.4%) | Up 17 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Maye surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,621 | #7,604 | 0.2% |
| Count | 4,356 | 4,206 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.48 | 1.41 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Maye bearers went from 4,356 to 4,206 (-3.4% change). The surname moved up 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,621 to #7,604.
FAQ
Maye surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Maye?
Name Census estimates that about 4,823 living Americans carry the surname Maye. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 71,067 residents.
How common is Maye?
Maye ranks #7,604 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.41 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,206 people with the surname Maye. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,823), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.41 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.41 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Maye.
Has Maye become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Maye went from 4,356 recorded bearers to 4,206. That is a decrease of 150 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,621 to #7,604.
What does the Census say about the background of Maye?
Among Census respondents with the surname Maye, the largest self-reported group is Black at 55.8%. The next largest groups are White (33.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Maye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.8% (2,345 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Maye appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (55.8%), White (33.0%), Two or More Races (5.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Maye (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Maye mean?
Derived from the Old English given name "Maeg," meaning "relative" or "kinsman." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Maye (1.41 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Maye?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.