May is an English feminine given name. It is derived from the name of the month, which comes from Maia, the name of a Roman fertility goddess.^[1] The name May is also used as a pet form of Mary and Margaret.

It can also be a variant of the Arabic name Mai مي, which either means Water or Little gazelle or little monkey.^[2]

• May Allison (1890–1989), American actress
• May Allison (runner) (born 1964), Canadian runner
• May Arida (1926–2018), Lebanese socialite
• May Arslan (1928–2013), member of the Lebanese Arslan family
• May Chidiac (born 1964), Lebanese journalist and politician
• May Chow, Canadian chef
• Beryl May Dent, (1900–1977), English mathematical physicist
• May Gibbs (1877–1969), Australian children's author and illustrator
• May Golan (born 1986), Israeli politician, political activist and commentator
• May Hezlet (1882–1978), British amateur golfer and sports writer
• May Hollinworth (1895–1968), Australian theatre producer and director
• May J. (born 1988), Japanese singer
• May Kassab (born 1981), Egyptian artist
• May McAvoy (1899–1984), American actor
• May Mourning Farris McKinney (1874-1959), American non-profit executive
• May Mikati (-??), wife of Najib Mikati, Lebanese prime minister
• May W. Newburger (1920–2012), New York politician
• May Robson (1858–1942), Australian actress
• May Sarton (1912–1995), American poet and novelist
• May Sayegh (1940–2023), Palestinian poet and activist
• May Scaff (1969-2018) Syrian actress and activist
• Lady May Abel Smith (1906–1994), a member of the British royal family
• May Erwin Talmadge (1885–1973), American civic leader and 19th President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution
• May Whitty (1865–1948), English actress
• May Yarrowick (1876-1949) Australian Aboriginal mid-wife
• May Ziadeh (1886-1941), Lebanese-Palestinian poet and writer

• May, one of the main characters in Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Merchant's Tale"
• Aunt May, Peter Parker/Spider-Man's aunt and primary caregiver
• May Bellamy, girlfriend of John Dortmunder in novels by Donald E. Westlake
• May Kanker, youngest of the Kanker sisters in the animated series Ed, Edd n Eddy
• May Kasahara, in Haruki Murakami's novel The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
• May Lee (The King of Fighters), in The King of Fighters fighting game series
• Melinda May, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent played by Ming-Na Wen in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and subsequently appearing in Marvel comics
• May (Guilty Gear), a character in the Guilty Gear video game series
• May, localize version of Mii, main character in Jungle de Ikou!
• May (Pokémon), in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Omega Ruby, and Alpha Sapphire, as well as the anime series
• May, in the show Sid the Science Kid
• May, an American Pekin duck from the Donald Duck universe

• Mary
• Mei (given name), also spelled as May
• Mae (given name)
• Mai (Arabic name), also written as May