May History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  England 
  Germany 
  Ireland 
  Scotland 


The name May comes from the ancient Norman culture that was established in Britain after the Conquest of 1066. It was a name for a person born or baptized in the month of May. The name May is derived from the Old French word mai, which has cognates in the other European languages that were all derived from the Latin word Maius. 1

Robert, Ralph de Mai and Robert Mai were listed in Normandy 1180-1198 (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae) 2

Early Origins of the May family

The surname May was first found in Lincolnshire where Johannes filius Maie was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1274. A few years later, Elenza May was found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1301 and the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 includes an entry for May de Hindley. William Mai was found in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1167 and a later Pipe Rolls included William le Mal in 1177. Thomas le Mey and Goscelin Mey were both listed in Suffolk in 1221. 3

The Hundredorum Rolls also includes: Richard le May, Huntingdonshire; Bateman le May, Bedfordshire; Cristin le May, Cambridgeshire; Roger filius Maye, Shropshire; John Filius Maye, Lincolnshire; and Emman le May, Oxfordshire. 4

In Scotland, "William May rendered homage at Berwick, 1291. David May had a feud of the lands of Chapeltoun of Both from the Abbey of Culross, 1587. Alexander May appears in Bourhillis, Aberdeenshire, 1597 and John Maii in Harvestoun in Tillycultrie, 1638, and Robert Maii in Dunglas, 1640. The family is associated with Clan Macdonald where it is a form of Omay." 5

Early History of the May family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our May research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1291, 1573, 1604, 1605, 1611, 1614, 1621, 1624, 1625, 1626, 1628, 1629, 1630, 1640, 1642, 1655, 1665, 1684, 1685, 1698, 1797 and 1890 are included under the topic Early May History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

May Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled May, Mai, Maye and others.

Early Notables of the May family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

May World Ranking

In the United States, the name May is the 264th most popular surname with an estimated 99,480 people with that name. 6 However, in Canada, the name May is ranked the 504th most popular surname with an estimated 9,663 people with that name. 7 And in Newfoundland, Canada, the name May is the 458th popular surname with an estimated 103 people with that name. 8 France ranks May as 2,818th with 2,000 - 2,500 people. 9 Australia ranks May as 185th with 17,362 people. 10 New Zealand ranks May as 247th with 2,419 people. 11 The United Kingdom ranks May as 232nd with 25,091 people. 12 South Africa ranks May as 358th with 19,282 people. 13

Migration of the May family to Ireland

Some of the May family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 93 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


May migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name May or a variant listed above were:

May Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
May Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
May Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
May Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

May migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

May Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
May Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
May Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

May migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

May Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

May migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

May Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

May migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 26
May Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name May (post 1700) +


Suggested Readings for the name May +
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