Mei

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Mei: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Mei: Recorded every year since 1996, it reached #871 in 2019, and it stood at #2,574 in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
31times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#871highest recorded position
9groupings it qualifies for

Region

Rising

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#3795
1997	#3174
1998	#3848
1999	#3900
2000	#1831
2001	#3262
2002	#1928
2003	#2191
2004	#2112
2005	#1934
2006	#1435
2007	#1656
2008	#1344
2009	#1752
2010	#1218
2011	#2275
2012	#2215
2013	#2649
2014	#1501
2015	#1865
2016	#1689
2017	#2090
2018	#1887
2019	#1703
2020	#1687
2021	#1866
2022	#2325
2023	#2063
2024	#2574

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

RisingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in England and Wales in every year from 1996 to 2024.

In 2019: #871 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #1703 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1996–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #3795 among girls in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #2574 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Mei by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Mei in England and Wales · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	13	4 of 10	3
2000s	118	10 of 10	12
2010sbusiest	156	10 of 10	16
2020s	66	5 of 10	13

Across England and Wales · Girls, the 2010s were its busiest decade, averaging 16 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Mei appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #871 in Republic of Ireland in 2019.

Mei's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#2574	10	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#2063	13	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#2325	11	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#1866	15	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#4789	3	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#1687	17	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#1703	17	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#1887	15	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#2090	13	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#1689	18	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#1865	15	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#1501	20	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#2649	9	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#2215	12	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#2275	11	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#1218	26	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#1752	15	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#1344	21	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#1656	15	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#1435	17	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#1934	11	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#2112	9	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#2191	8	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#1928	9	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#3262	4	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#1831	9	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#3900	3	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#3848	3	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#3174	4	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#3795	3	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	female	#871	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1996 and 2024, ranked in 29 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #871, first reached in 2019.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 26 births, registered in England and Wales in 2010.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2019, and 23 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Mehtab · #773, 20y
Mehwish · #1802, 28y
Meida · #798, 13y
Meila · #1436, 15y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Kiyah · #871, 27y
Maram · #871, 25y
Rafaela · #871, 25y
Salome · #871, 29y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Calista · #871, 27y
Kiyah · #871, 27y
Maram · #871, 25y
Rafaela · #871, 25y

Mei was ranked #871 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 2019. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Mei and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Mei without appearing here.

Mei moved ahead of

Belinda Compare
In 2013 they stood at #2649 and #2062 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2014 that had become #1501 and #4684.
Siobhán Compare
In 2017 they stood at #2090 and #1817 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #1887 and #4684.
Debra Compare
In 2001 they stood at #3262 and #2226 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2002 that had become #1928 and #4137.
Fionn Compare
In 2001 they stood at #3262 and #3262 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2002 that had become #1928 and #4137.

Moved ahead of Mei

Rory Compare
In 2021 they stood at #1866 and #2201 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2022 that had become #2325 and #1452.
Noah Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2063 and #3218 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #2574 and #1743.
Blake Compare
In 2014 they stood at #1501 and #2203 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2015 that had become #1865 and #1240.
Ezra Compare
In 2014 they stood at #1501 and #1628 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2015 that had become #1865 and #1279.

Moved the opposite way to Mei

Kristin Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Girls, Mei went from #3795 to #2063 while Kristin went from #1434 to #5687.
Therese Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Girls, Mei went from #3795 to #2063 while Therese went from #2096 to #4709.
Tracey Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Girls, Mei went from #3795 to #2063 while Tracey went from #783 to #5687.
Carol Compare
Between 1996 and 2021 in England and Wales · Girls, Mei went from #3795 to #1866 while Carol went from #802 to #3519.

Moved the same way as Mei

Hayden Compare
Between 2000 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Mei went from #1831 to #2574 and Hayden from #3912 to #5891.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #871 in Republic of Ireland in 2019. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Mei

Mei at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Mei by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Mei appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Mei

Mei and the names beside it

Mei moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Mei

Moved the opposite way to Mei

Moved the same way as Mei

Mei at a glance

Mei by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Mei appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Mei

Mei and the names beside it

Mei moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Mei

Moved the opposite way to Mei

Moved the same way as Mei