Fun Facts About the Name Maeleigh
- 883 babies named Maeleigh: U.S. records list 883 babies given the name Maeleigh from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Maeleigh Mean?
Maeleigh is a modern English feminine name formed from two familiar elements: Mae and the ending -leigh. The ending works as a suffix rather than as a word with its own role in the compound, so the name is usually read literally as "Mae's meadow," and no meaning is fixed by long tradition.
Mae is an English spelling of May, which has more than one source. As a pet form it stands for Mary - from Hebrew Miriam, a name of disputed meaning often explained as "beloved" but also linked with bitterness or rebellion - and it was likewise used as a short form of Margaret. Separately, May is the name of the month, from Latin Maius, which the Romans associated with the goddess Maia, a name of uncertain origin. Which of these lies behind any particular Maeleigh cannot be determined.
The ending -leigh comes from Old English lēah, "woodland clearing" or "meadow," the same element that appears in the place name Leigh and in surnames such as Ashley and Bradley. In Maeleigh it represents the sound "-lee" as a spelling choice rather than a direct survival of the Old English word.
Maeleigh Name History & Origins
The elements of Maeleigh are old, but the name belongs to a recent layer of English naming. Old English lēah survives in English place names such as Leigh, and from those place names came surnames - Ashley, Bradley, and many others - that later passed into use as given names in the English-speaking world.
May, or Mae, has been used as a given name in its own right since at least the 19th century in Britain and North America, serving both as a pet form of Mary and Margaret and as a name taken from the month. Compounded forms with -lee (Maelee, Maylee) and the -leigh spelling belong to a style that spread in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, when -leigh became a common way to spell the ending of feminine names such as Kayleigh, Ryleigh, and Haileigh. In those names the ending is a spelling preference, not a shared etymology: Kayleigh, for instance, is usually analyzed from a different first element.
Maeleigh is used mainly in the United States and in other English-speaking countries. Because it is a combination of older parts rather than an inherited form passed down through a single language, its sense is best explained through those parts instead of one traditional meaning.
How Popular is the Name Maeleigh?
Maeleigh has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2016. Its best rank was #2,685 in 2016.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,055 | 54 | 0.0034% |
| 2024 | #3,302 | 48 | 0.0030% |
| 2023 | #3,250 | 50 | 0.0031% |
| 2022 | #2,774 | 62 | 0.0038% |
| 2021 | #3,141 | 52 | 0.0032% |
| 2020 | #3,472 | 44 | 0.0027% |
| 2019 | #3,070 | 53 | 0.0032% |
| 2018 | #3,322 | 48 | 0.0028% |
| 2017 | #3,119 | 52 | 0.0030% |
| 2016 | #2,685 | 65 | 0.0037% |
| 2015 | #3,196 | 52 | 0.0029% |
| 2014 | #3,465 | 46 | 0.0026% |
| 2013 | #3,754 | 41 | 0.0023% |
| 2012 | #3,299 | 50 | 0.0028% |
| 2011 | #4,038 | 37 | 0.0021% |
| 2010 | #5,530 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2009 | #6,229 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2008 | #7,269 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2007 | #7,948 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2006 | #11,116 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2005 | #8,169 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2004 | #9,641 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2003 | #11,967 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2000 | #16,573 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Maeleigh Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have psychic power. You can carry on for others with joy. You have a receptive nature and may bear burdens for others. You are pragmatic, thorough, strong-willed, practical and stubborn at times. You are hard working, often martyr to duty. You like home and security above all. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.
✦ Maeleigh's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Maeleigh's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.