Maeve
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- MAYV
- Origin
- Irish
- UK rank, 2025
- #26 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #76 for girls
Maeve is a girls' name of Irish origin, meaning “she who intoxicates”. In 2025 it ranked 26th for girls in the UK (1,495 babies) and 76th for girls in the US (3,153 babies).
What does Maeve mean?
Irish: from Irish Medb
“she who intoxicates”
From Medb, the warrior queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle, who launches the Cattle Raid of Cooley.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Maeve a girl's or a boy's name?
Maeve is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 1,495 girls in the UK and 3,153 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Maeve in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #26among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 1,495about 1 in 190 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising fastup 325% in five years
- Same name in a class
- 7.3%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 1,495 girls in the UK were named Maeve, making it the 26th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 93rd.
It has been given to more girls each year for the last 9 years. 2025 had the most girls named Maeve of any year since the records began in 1996.
Half of all the girls named Maeve in the UK since 1996 were born between 2020 and 2024, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 1,619 girls in the UK were given Maeve or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #21, up from #26 for this spelling alone.
Among girls in 2025, it was 26th in England and Wales, 23rd in Scotland and 55th in Northern Ireland.
In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 2024 (#26).
Maeve in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,495 | #26 |
| 2024 | 1,428 | #29 |
| 2023 | 1,238 | #36 |
| 2022 | 1,107 | #46 |
| 2021 | 734 | #81 |
| 2020 | 609 | #93 |
| 2019 | 263 | #207 |
| 2018 | 108 | #454 |
| 2017 | 105 | #467 |
| 2016 | 89 | #529 |
| 2015 | 93 | #505 |
| 2014 | 92 | #517 |
| 2013 | 79 | #576 |
| 2012 | 78 | #597 |
| 2011 | 74 | #596 |
| 2010 | 76 | #578 |
| 2009 | 81 | #533 |
| 2008 | 60 | #670 |
| 2007 | 72 | #563 |
| 2006 | 61 | #607 |
| 2005 | 56 | #633 |
| 2004 | 61 | #571 |
| 2003 | 51 | #623 |
| 2002 | 63 | #523 |
| 2001 | 60 | #534 |
| 2000 | 66 | #496 |
| 1999 | 61 | #525 |
| 1998 | 66 | #497 |
| 1997 | 64 | #502 |
| 1996 | 24 | #924 |
How popular is Maeve in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #76among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 3,153about 1 in 510 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising fastup 138% in five years
- Same name in a class
- 2.7%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 3,153 girls in the US were named Maeve, making it the 76th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 174th. It first appears in the records in 1940.
It has been given to more girls each year for the last 14 years. 2025 had the most girls named Maeve of any year since it first appeared, in 1940.
Half of all the girls named Maeve in the US since 1880 were born between 2012 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
Maeve in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,153 | #76 |
| 2024 | 3,105 | #75 |
| 2023 | 3,062 | #73 |
| 2022 | 2,676 | #103 |
| 2021 | 2,253 | #124 |
| 2020 | 1,644 | #174 |
| 2019 | 1,303 | #244 |
| 2018 | 973 | #334 |
| 2017 | 867 | #360 |
| 2016 | 820 | #406 |
| 2015 | 703 | #451 |
| 2014 | 648 | #486 |
| 2013 | 625 | #485 |
| 2012 | 571 | #530 |
| 2011 | 489 | #591 |
| 2010 | 546 | #536 |
| 2009 | 508 | #594 |
| 2008 | 486 | #636 |
| 2007 | 480 | #621 |
| 2006 | 447 | #643 |
| 2005 | 398 | #695 |
| 2004 | 378 | #710 |
| 2003 | 413 | #643 |
| 2002 | 350 | #710 |
| 2001 | 317 | #756 |
| 2000 | 295 | #774 |
| 1999 | 343 | #666 |
| 1998 | 240 | #878 |
| 1997 | 207 | #952 |
| 1996 | 141 | #1,236 |
| 1995 | 133 | #1,262 |
| 1994 | 102 | #1,517 |
| 1993 | 90 | #1,661 |
| 1992 | 79 | #1,814 |
| 1991 | 67 | #2,028 |
| 1990 | 48 | #2,487 |
| 1989 | 52 | #2,273 |
| 1988 | 56 | #2,066 |
| 1987 | 41 | #2,491 |
| 1986 | 46 | #2,227 |
| 1985 | 32 | #2,859 |
| 1984 | 30 | #2,914 |
| 1983 | 23 | #3,430 |
| 1982 | 19 | #4,024 |
| 1981 | 21 | #3,738 |
| 1980 | 13 | #5,244 |
| 1979 | 13 | #5,091 |
| 1978 | 13 | #4,931 |
| 1977 | 12 | #5,212 |
| 1976 | 9 | #6,046 |
| 1975 | 7 | #7,171 |
| 1974 | 8 | #6,257 |
| 1973 | 8 | #6,078 |
| 1972 | 9 | #5,479 |
| 1971 | 10 | #5,134 |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 12 | #4,197 |
| 1968 | 6 | #6,244 |
| 1967 | 6 | #6,041 |
| 1966 | 7 | #5,272 |
| 1965 | 11 | #3,951 |
| 1964 | 12 | #3,878 |
| 1963 | 16 | #3,175 |
| 1962 | 5 | #6,577 |
| 1961 | 12 | #3,792 |
| 1960 | 15 | #3,211 |
| 1959 | 11 | #3,826 |
| 1958 | 11 | #3,746 |
| 1957 | 5 | #6,085 |
| 1956 | 5 | #5,951 |
| 1955 | 7 | #4,739 |
| 1954 | 11 | #3,489 |
| 1953 | 9 | #3,954 |
| 1952 | 8 | #4,122 |
| 1951 | 7 | #4,384 |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 8 | #3,891 |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 7 | #4,343 |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 6 | #4,023 |
| 1944 | 5 | #4,572 |
| 1943 | 6 | #4,195 |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 10 | #2,844 |
| 1940 | 8 | #3,206 |
Names like Maeve
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Eden Harper Sienna Mila Orla Esme Willow Aria Arabella Margot Delilah Penelope
Other spellings of Maeve
Names related to Maeve
More Irish names
Oscar Rowan Rory Finn Aiden Ryan Nolan Quinn Cody Erin Ronan Connor Declan Casey Kennedy Callan
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Maeve: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/maeve, updated 20 October 2026.