Fun Facts About the Name Mais
- 61 babies named Mais: U.S. records list 61 babies given the name Mais from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Mais Mean?
Mais is a feminine name of Arabic origin, written ميس and more often rendered in English as Mays. It is the ordinary Arabic noun for a tree, generally identified as a nettle tree or hackberry of the genus Celtis, and it also belongs to the root m-y-s, which is tied to walking with a proud, swinging motion. These give the customary senses "graceful walk" and "proud bearing," and the name is frequently glossed simply as "graceful." It is not certain whether the personal name grew out of the tree word or out of the walking term, but the two are senses of the same Arabic word rather than separate origins, so the explanations are connected.
Mais Name History & Origins
The word mays was already current in pre-Islamic Arabic, where it named the tree and described a swaying, proud walk, and it appears in personal names from the earliest Islamic period. The form Maysūn (ميسون) was borne by the wife of the Umayyad caliph Muʿāwiya I and mother of Yazīd I, which shows mays used as a name element in the first Islamic century. The related feminine names Maysāʾ (Maisa) and Maysūn (Maison) come from the same root.
Because written Arabic normally omits short vowels, the name has no single Latin-alphabet spelling. Forms in use include Mays, Mais, Maiss, and Mayce. Mais is especially common in French-influenced parts of the Arabic-speaking world, such as the Maghreb and Lebanon, while Mays is the usual English spelling. The choice of letters reflects the surrounding language, not a difference in the name itself.
How Popular is the Name Mais?
Mais 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 #10,567 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 | #16,371 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2023 | #16,688 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2021 | #16,776 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2019 | #17,073 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2017 | #13,565 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2016 | #10,567 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2014 | #15,820 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #13,012 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2007 | #19,399 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2004 | #17,759 | 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 Mais 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.
✦ Mais's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Mais's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.