Elaine May
There are approximately 45 people named Elaine May living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 7,616,763 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Elaine with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname May. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
45
1 in 7,616,763
Named Elaine
128K
Alive today
Named May
120K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 128K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1947
Average age: 63
Estimated bearers: 120K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #304
Per 100K: 35.02
Top ancestry: White (83.5%)
First name trend
Elaine: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Elaine. The peak year was 1947 with 7,071 births. The average person named Elaine today is 63 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the May surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname May, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 83.5%.
- White83.5%
- Black or African American9.6%
- Hispanic or Latino3.0%
- Two or more races1.9%
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Elaine has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0374% of the US population, based on 128,300 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname May appears at a rate of 35.02 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0350%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 45 people with the full name Elaine May. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Elaine
Related
Other people with the surname May
FAQ
Elaine May: questions and answers
How many people are named Elaine May?
We estimate approximately 45 people in the United States share the full name Elaine May. That works out to about 1 in 7,616,763 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0374%) with the surname frequency (35.02 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Elaine May?
We classify Elaine May as "Very Rare". About 1 in 7,616,763 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Elaine a male or female name?
Elaine is predominantly female. Out of 262,525 total SSA registrations, 0.2% were male and 99.8% were female. See the full Elaine profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.