Girl's name
Maeve
Say it MAYV
Irish origin intoxicating
1 syllable
Where Maeve is loved, common and rare
Common across the Netherlands, the UK, British Columbia and seven more places. Rare in Quebec, four German cities, Poland and five more places. Loved in Nova Scotia.
1 in 138 girls born in Scotland in 2025
The Netherlands 18thScotland 23rdEngland and Wales 26th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 24 of the 40 official lists, among them the Netherlands (18th), Scotland (23rd) and England and Wales (26th).
Show all 24 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Netherlands | 18th 2025 | 425 | about 1 in 144 |
| Scotland | 23rd 2025 | 130 | 1 in 138 |
| England and Wales | 26th 2025 | 1,330 | 1 in 190 |
| South Australia state | 26th 2025 | 44 | rank only |
| New Zealand | 29th 2025 | 91 | rank only |
| British Columbia province | 31st 2023 | 62 | about 1 in 193 |
| Ontario province | 32nd 2024 | 222 | about 1 in 245 |
| Victoria state | 34th 2025 | 156 | rank only |
| New South Wales state | 38th 2025 | 158 | rank only |
| Queensland state | 50th 2025 | 94 | rank only |
| Northern Ireland | 55th 2025 | 35 | 1 in 208 |
| Ireland | 60th 2025 | 83 | 1 in 255 |
| Quebec province | 179th 2025 | 32 | about 1 in 813 |
| Poland | 583rd 2025 | 3 | 1 in 39,929 |
| Cologne city | 630th 2023 | 1 | about 1 in 6,143 |
| Switzerland | 720th 2025 | 8 | 1 in 4,249 |
| Sweden | 885th 2025 | 5 | about 1 in 8,034 |
| Berlin city | 937th 2023 | 2 | about 1 in 7,252 |
| Austria | 1026th 2025 | 3 | 1 in 11,907 |
| France | 1275th 2025 | 50 | 1 in 5,736 |
| Italy | 2199th 2024 | 3 | 1 in 59,723 |
| Nova Scotia province | 9th 2025 | 23 | rank only |
| Leipzig city | 344th 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 2,624 |
| Bonn city | 382nd 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 3,015 |
Rare, below the listed names: Munich, Rostock, Norway, Spain, Catalonia, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); SA Attorney-General's Department, Births, Deaths and Marriages (data.sa.gov.au) (South Australia); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Registry of BDM Victoria (DataVic) (Victoria); NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages (Data.NSW) (New South Wales); Queensland Registry of BDM (Qld Open Data Portal) (Queensland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Nova Scotia Vital Statistics (data.novascotia.ca) (Nova Scotia); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn). How we count, and every source
About the name
Medb, a legendary queen of Connacht in early Irish tradition, stands behind this name. Maeve is the anglicised form of Irish Méabh, from Middle Irish Medb, meaning 'intoxicating'.
Read the restShow less
A single syllable, MAYV, gives it a soft, strong sound. Meabh is the Irish spelling without the accent, and Maeva and Maive are variants.
Maeve ranks high in Scotland, England and Wales, and South Australia, and it has become notably popular in the Netherlands as well. The Ontario and British Columbia records place its peak in 2023, and it is rising in 13 places and falling in none, a name clearly gaining ground in several countries at once.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- MAYV, 1 syllable
- Meaning
intoxicating
- Origin
- Irish
- Other spellings
- Meabh
- Maeva
- Maive
- Maïva
Etymology
Anglicized from Irish Méabh, from Middle Irish Medb (literally “intoxicating”), name of a legendary queen of Connacht.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 13 of 16 regions, falling in none.
Show the yearsShow less
Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 638 | 560 | 507 | 218 | 94 | 77 | 48 | 36 | 26 | 26 |
| Scotland | 453 | 275 | 255 | 216 | 86 | 72 | 49 | 39 | 25 | 23 |
| Northern Ireland | 137 | 154 | 208 | 113 | 158 | 131 | 79 | 72 | 57 | 55 |
| Ireland | 137 | 133 | 114 | 105 | 99 | 106 | 98 | 80 | 71 | 60 |
| Ontario | 124 | 110 | 107 | 87 | 77 | 54 | 42 | 30 | 32 | |
| British Columbia | 223 | 225 | 244 | 111 | 84 | 63 | 46 | 31 | ||
| Nova Scotia | 13 | 9 | ||||||||
| New South Wales | 95 | 78 | 49 | 42 | 43 | 38 | ||||
| Victoria | 91 | 64 | 57 | 55 | 27 | 28 | 34 | |||
| Queensland | 90 | 47 | 55 | 37 | 50 | |||||
| South Australia | 324 | 180 | 80 | 91 | 43 | 27 | 27 | 26 | ||
| New Zealand | 63 | 52 | 43 | 25 | 32 | 29 | ||||
| Quebec | 382 | 651 | 559 | 547 | 339 | 204 | 276 | 180 | 218 | 179 |
| France | 3683 | 2565 | 3591 | 2530 | 1099 | 1006 | 1071 | 1034 | 831 | 1275 |
| The Netherlands | 316 | 348 | 162 | 84 | 44 | 23 | 20 | 14 | 18 | |
| Switzerland | 1719 | 1494 | 1785 | 700 | 520 | 1298 | 622 | 527 | 720 | |
| Berlin | 988 | 642 | 562 | 551 | 937 | |||||
| Sweden | 988 | 835 | 570 | 792 | 885 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 26 | 1,330 | 525.1 |
| 2024 | 26 | 1,265 | 490.3 |
| 2023 | 36 | 1,114 | 434.2 |
| 2022 | 48 | 990 | 375.7 |
| 2021 | 77 | 654 | 238.6 |
| 2020 | 94 | 547 | 203.8 |
| 2019 | 218 | 225 | 80.3 |
| 2018 | 507 | 84 | 29.1 |
| 2017 | 560 | 77 | 25.7 |
| 2016 | 638 | 66 | 21.5 |
| 2015 | 620 | 67 | 21.8 |
| 2014 | 652 | 61 | 19.9 |
| 2013 | 699 | 57 | 18.5 |
| 2012 | 690 | 60 | 18.6 |
| 2011 | 744 | 51 | 15.9 |
| 2010 | 695 | 53 | 16.5 |
| 2009 | 647 | 57 | 18.2 |
| 2008 | 878 | 37 | 11.7 |
| 2007 | 755 | 44 | 14.4 |
| 2006 | 717 | 43 | 14.4 |
| 2005 | 824 | 34 | 11.8 |
| 2004 | 722 | 39 | 13.6 |
| 2003 | 933 | 26 | 9.3 |
| 2002 | 842 | 28 | 10.5 |
| 2001 | 696 | 36 | 13.4 |
| 2000 | 728 | 32 | 11.7 |
| 1999 | 900 | 24 | 8.5 |
| 1998 | 649 | 38 | 13.1 |
| 1997 | 736 | 32 | 10.9 |
| 1996 | 891 | 24 | 8.1 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Maeve in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2019. First recorded in 1993. Her peak year there: 2023, at 457.9 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Maeve per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 2023 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Maeve
1 in 338 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Maeve.
1 in 108 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Maeve.
1 in 106 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Maeve. Same first letter as Maeve.
1 in 197 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Maeve.
1 in 208 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Maeve.
1 in 183 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Maeve.
1 in 189 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Maeve.
1 in 459 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Maeve.
1 in 138 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Maeve.
1 in 92 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Maeve. Same first letter as Maeve.
Middle names for Maeve
1 in 71 in Scotland
Maeve Olivia
1-4 beats · initials MO
Changes the beat after Maeve: 1 syllable, then 4 syllables.
1 in 107 in Northern Ireland
Maeve Charlotte
1-2 beats · initials MC
Changes the beat after Maeve: 1 syllable, then 2 syllables.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Maeve Emily
1-3 beats · initials ME
Changes the beat after Maeve: 1 syllable, then 3 syllables.
1 in 86 in Ireland
Maeve Sophie
1-2 beats · initials MS
Changes the beat after Maeve: 1 syllable, then 2 syllables.
1 in 95 in Northern Ireland
Maeve Anna
1-2 beats · initials MA
Changes the beat after Maeve: 1 syllable, then 2 syllables.
1 in 154 in Ireland
Maeve Emma
1-2 beats · initials ME
Changes the beat after Maeve: 1 syllable, then 2 syllables.
1 in 197 in Ireland
Maeve Alice
1-2 beats · initials MA
Changes the beat after Maeve: 1 syllable, then 2 syllables.
1 in 88 in Scotland
Maeve Amelia
1-4 beats · initials MA
Changes the beat after Maeve: 1 syllable, then 4 syllables.
Same style as Maeve
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 338 in Scotland
94% alike: moves with Maeve across countries and decades.
1 in 215 in England and Wales
93% alike: moves with Maeve across countries and decades.
1 in 101 in Scotland
93% alike: moves with Maeve across countries and decades.
1 in 140 in Northern Ireland
92% alike: moves with Maeve across countries and decades.
1 in 82 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Maeve across countries and decades.
1 in 587 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Maeve across countries and decades.
1 in 143 in Scotland
92% alike: moves with Maeve across countries and decades.
1 in 106 in Scotland
92% alike: moves with Maeve across countries and decades.
Famous people named Maeve
Maeve Binchy, Maeve Dermody and Maeve Quinlan.
Show all 3Show less
-
Irish novelist 1939 to 2012
-
Australian actress born 1985
-
American actress born 1964
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Maeve
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Maeve?
Her best rank is No. 18 in the Netherlands in 2025, about 1 in 144 girls. She is in the published lists of 24 of our 40 regions.
What does Maeve mean?
Wiktionary glosses Maeve as "intoxicating".
How do you pronounce Maeve?
MAYV, with 1 syllable.
Is Maeve getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 13 of 16 regions, falling in none.
Which sister names go with Maeve?
The deck's top five sisters for Maeve: Quinn, Ava, Maisie, Layla and Zara. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.