Mei surname: meaning, census count and records | FamilyCrests

The Mei surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,867 people carried this name — #4,510 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 37,500 people counted. That is up 64% from 4,794 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Mei surname

Typically renders the common Chinese surnames Mandarin 梅 (méi, literally “plum”) and Mandarin 枚 (méi, literally “tree trunk”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Mei» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 183 people named Mei live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 59
City of Buenos Aires 55
Santa Fe 35
Córdoba 34

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 177 people named Mei.

51 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 23 départements, most often Corsica.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 51
Corsica 51
Bouches-du-Rhône 17
Alpes-Maritimes 11
Seine-Saint-Denis 7
Var 6
Vaucluse 3
Allier 3
Paris 3

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

61 people named Mei live in Switzerland.

They live in 10 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 13
Lucerne 8
Geneva 7
Ticino 7
Jura 6
Vaud 6
Neuchâtel 5
Basel-Stadt 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

47 people named Mei is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 47

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Mei in American newspapers,
1902–1904.

Newspaper page from Indiana Tribüne carrying the name Mei
Indiana Tribüne 1902-10-02
Newspaper page from Indiana Tribüne carrying the name Mei
Indiana Tribüne 1903-05-05
Newspaper page from Indiana Tribüne carrying the name Mei
Indiana Tribüne 1904-01-06

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 589,205 pages in all carry the name.

Who carried it

People named Mei,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Mei Sizu d. 1382
  • Mei Rong d. 1121
  • Mei Liben d. 1767
  • Mei Mei d. 1738
  • Mei Qing d. 833
  • Mei Luo d. 796

Wikidata (CC0) · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Mei.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Mei is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See what a volume holds
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