A Name Story by Houdhoud
مَيّ
Mai
MAY
“A classical Arabic name; the meaning is not settled.”
About Mai
Mai is a Muslim baby girl's name meaning "a classical arabic name; the meaning is not settled" — an Arabic name carried for centuries across the Muslim world.
A classical Arabic name attested in early poetry, whose lexical meaning is not established; this entry does not invent one. Borne by Mayy Ziyada, the Lebanese-Palestinian writer of the Arab literary renaissance.
Very common in Egypt; reads as May in English.
Origin & roots
Origin
Arabic
Gender
Girl
Also spelled
May, Mayy, Mae
Root letters
In Arabic, root letters are the seed that gives a word its meaning. Every word built from them inherits that family of meaning — and Mai is one such word.
Across history
Who has carried Mai before.
- Mayy Ziyada (1886–1941), writer and salon host in Cairo
How to say it
Stressed syllable in capitals
Discover names like Mai
Other names with the same heart — close in origin, sound, and spirit.
AL-yaa · Arabic
“Lofty, exalted; the high heavens.”
HE-bah · Arabic
“Gift.”
ee-MAAN · Arabic
“Faith, belief.”
NOO-rah · Arabic
“Light (feminine form).”
AH-mee-na · Arabic
“Trustworthy (Bosnian usage).”
ha-LEE-ma · Arabic · Swahili
“Gentle, patient.”
Common questions about Mai
- What does the name Mai mean?
- Mai (مَيّ) means "A classical Arabic name; the meaning is not settled". A classical Arabic name attested in early poetry, whose lexical meaning is not established; this entry does not invent one. Borne by Mayy Ziyada, the Lebanese-Palestinian writer of the Arab literary renaissance.
- Is Mai a name from the Qur'an?
- Mai does not appear directly in the Qur'an in our verified records, though it is an Arabic name long carried across the Muslim world. We only list a Qur'anic verse when it's verified against the Tanzil corpus.
- Is Mai a boy or a girl name?
- Mai is traditionally a girl's name.
- Where does the name Mai come from?
- Mai is an Arabic name, built on the root letters —. Very common in Egypt; reads as May in English.
- How is Mai spelled?
- Mai is the most common English spelling. The same Arabic name (مَيّ) is also written May, Mayy, and Mae. They are one name, not different names — the spelling only reflects how each family or country transliterates the Arabic.
Browse names like Mai
Collections Mai belongs to.
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