May is a surname of Germanic (Saxon) and, independently, of Gaelic origin.[1][2] There are many variants used in English-speaking countries, as well as several variants used in Germany. The Scottish May is a sept of Clan Donald.[3] The surname "May" remains a common surname in the United States, England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, as well as among Russians of German origin; possibly also persisting in areas of the Netherlands and France.
| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Word/name | Angle, Saxon & Gaelic |
| Region of origin | Germany, Scotland |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Maye, Mayes, Mays, Meir, Meier, Meyer, Mayhew, Maynard, Meynell |
People with the surname May include:
- Abby May (1800–1877), American social activist
- Alan Nunn May (1911–2003), English spy for the Soviet Union
- Alfred May (engineer) (1851–1920), engineer and inventor in South Australia
- Andrew J. May (1875–1959), American politician
- Arthur Johan May (1903–1979), acting Prime Minister of Suriname
- Bailey May (Born 2002), Filipino singer, dancer and actor. Member of the new global pop group formed by Simon Fuller, Now United
- Barry May (born 1944), South African-born former English cricketer
- Billy May (1916–2004), American arranger
- Bob May, see Robert May
- Bob May (golfer) (born 1968), American golfer
- Brad May (born 1971), Canadian ice hockey player
- Brian May (born 1947), English rock guitarist and astrophysicist
- Brian May (Australian composer) (1934–1997), Australian bandleader
- Buckshot May (1899–1984), American baseball player
- Butler May (1894–1917), known as "Stringbeans", American blues and vaudeville performer
- Carlos May (born 1948), American baseball player
- Charles S. May (1830–1891), American politician from Michigan
- Christine May (born 1948), Irish politician
- Christof May (1973–2022), German Catholic priest
- Clifford May (born 1951), American activist
- Corinna May (born 1970), German singer
- Corrinne May (Corrinne Foo May Ying, born 1973), Singaporean singer-songwriter
- Cyril May (born 1929), Australian singer-songwriter
- Daniel May (disambiguation), several people
- Darrell May (born 1972), American baseball player
- Dave May (1943–2012), American baseball player
- David May (disambiguation)
- Deborah May, American actress
- Dent May (born 1985), American pop musician
- Derrick May (baseball player) (born 1968)
- Derrick May (musician) (born 1963), American electronic pop music composer
- Donald May (1929–2022), American actor
- Doris May (1902–1984), American film actress
- Dustin May (born 1997), American baseball player
- Dusty May (born 1976), American basketball coach
- Eddie May (1943–2012), English footballer and manager
- Edith May (pseudonym of Anne Drinker; 1827–1903), American poet
- Edmund May (1876–1956), German architect
- Edna May (1878–1948), American singer and actress
- Eduard May (1905–1956), German biologist, Nazi entomologist, natural philosopher
- Ela Q. May, child actress of the Edwardian era
- Elaine May (born 1932), American screenwriter and director
- Elizabeth May (born 1954), Canadian politician
- Elizabeth May (athlete) (born 1983), Luxembourgian triathlete
- Emil May (1850–1933), German engineer
- Ernst May (1886–1970), German architect
- Erskine May, 1st Baron Farnborough (1815–1886), English constitutional lawyer
- Eva May (1902–1924), Austrian actress
- Fiona May (born 1969), British and Italian athlete and actress
- Francis Henry May (1860–1922), Hong Kong Governor
- Frederick May (composer) (1911–1985), Irish composer
- Frederick May (engineer) (John Frederick May, 1840–1897), Australian engineer and inventor
- George May, 1st Baron May (1871–1946), British financial expert and public servant
- George S. May (1890–1962), American business and pre-eminent golf promoter
- Gisela May (1924–2016), German actress
- Graham May (1952–2006), New Zealand weightlifter
- Guillermo May (born 1998), Uruguayan football player
- Gustave May (1881–1943), American photographer
- Hans May (1886–1958), Austrian film music composer
- Henry May (disambiguation)
- Hugh May (1621–1684), English architect
- Imelda May (born 1974), Irish singer
- Irma May (1899-?), Polish social reformer
- Jack May (1922–1997), English actor
- James May (born 1963), English motor journalist and TV presenter
- Jan May (born 1995), German cyclist
- Jesse May (born 1980), American poker player
- Jodhi May (born 1975), English actress
- Joe May (disambiguation)
- Joe May (1880–1954), Austrian film director
- Johann Friedrich May (1697–1762), German political scientist
- John May (disambiguation)
- Jon May (born 1939), American mathematician
- Jonathan May (1958–2010), American cellist and conductor
- Joseph May (born 1974), English actor
- Julia Harris May (1833–1912), American poet, teacher, school founder
- Julian May (1931–2017), American science fiction author
- Julie von May (1808–1875), Swiss feminist
- Juliet May (born 1966), English film director
- Juliet May (judge) (born 1961), English judge
- Jürgen May (born 1942), German athlete
- Karl May (1842–1912), German writer
- Karl Ivanovich May (1820–1895), Russian educator
- Kathy May (born 1956), American tennis player
- Kenneth May (1915–1977), American mathematician
- Lady May, American rapper
- Larry May (born 1958), English footballer
- Lee May (1943–2017), American baseball player
- London May (born 1967), American rock musician
- Mac May (born 1999), American volleyball player
- Margaret May (born 1950), Australian politician
- Márcio May (born 1972), Brazilian cyclist
- Marc May (born 1956), American football player
- Mark May (born 1959), American football player
- Mathilda May (born 1965), French actress
- Mia May (1884–1980), Austrian actress
- Michaela May (born 1952), German actress
- Michael May (racing driver) (born 1934), Swiss racing driver
- Michael May (cricketer) (born 1971), English cricketer
- Mick May (born 1976 Coventry), Rugby player
- Mike May (Iowa politician) (born 1945), American politician (Iowa)
- Mike May (skier) (born 1954), winter Paralympics athlete
- Milt May (born 1950), American baseball player
- Nataliya May (born 1968), Ukrainian singer
- Patricia May, Chilean anthropologist
- Percy May (1884–1965), English cricketer
- Peter May (cricketer) (1929–1994), English cricketer
- Peter May (writer) (born 1951), Scottish writer
- Phil May (caricaturist) (1864–1903), English illustrator
- Phil May (singer) (1944–2020), English rock singer and lyricist
- Philip May (born 1957), husband of Theresa May
- Ralphie May (1972–2017), American comedian
- Richard May (disambiguation)
- Rick May (1940–2020), American (voice) actor, theatrical performer, director, and teacher
- Robert May (disambiguation)
- Rollo May (1909–1994), American psychologist
- Rüdiger May (born 1974), German boxer
- Rudy May (born 1944), American baseball player
- Sarah May (born 1972), English writer
- Scott May (born 1954), American basketball player
- Sean May (born 1984), American basketball player
- Simon May (born 1944), English film and TV music composer
- Søren Nielsen May (died 1679), Danish priest
- Theresa May (born 1956), British former Prime Minister
- Tim May (born 1962), Australian cricketer
- Timothy C. May, (1951–2018) American engineer and writer
- Tina May (1961–2022), English jazz singer
- Thomas May (1594/5–1650), English poet
- Tom May (rugby union) (born 1979), English rugby player
- Torsten May (born 1969), German boxer
- Trevor May (born 1989), American baseball player
- Vladimir May-Mayevsky (1867–1920), Russian general
- William May (theologian) (died 1560), English archbishop
- Wop May (1896–1952), Canadian pilot
- Zakhar May (born 1969), Russian rock musician
See also
Notes
This page lists people with the surname May.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.