Mai
/M-AY/
The yellow apricot blossom of Tet, from the Vietnamese mai, the hoa mai flower that blooms at the Lunar New Year. A familiar Vietnamese feminine name, it ties the bearer to springtime renewal and good fortune, fresh and bright as the new year's first flowering.
See Mai scored for your familyQuick — what every parent wants to know about Mai:
Yes — Mai is a Buddhist girl name of Vietnamese origin, meaning “The yellow apricot blossom of Tet, from the Vietnamese mai, the hoa mai flower that blooms at the Lunar New Year. A familiar Vietnamese feminine name, it ties the bearer to springtime renewal and good fortune, fresh and bright as the new year's first flowering.”.
How well does Mai fit your family?
This page tells you what Mai means. The app tells you whether it's right for your baby — scored against the names already in your family, your heritage, and your baby's exact birth star.
Unlock Mai's score — free
Six signals — scored for your family, not in the abstract:
Meaning & origin
Mai is a girl's name of Vietnamese origin, traditionally used in Buddhist families. The name means "The yellow apricot blossom of Tet, from the Vietnamese mai, the hoa mai flower that blooms at the Lunar New Year. A familiar Vietnamese feminine name, it ties the bearer to springtime renewal and good fortune, fresh and bright as the new year's first flowering." and belongs to the Nature cluster — names drawn from the natural world — earth, water, sky.
Common among SoutheastAsian, Vietnamese families, Mai carries cultural weight that goes beyond its dictionary definition — it's a name with a story and a community.
What's Mai's birth star?
In Vedic tradition, a baby's name is matched to their nakshatra (birth star) and rashi (moon sign) — usually through its first syllable. Mai opens with “Ma.” But whether that's auspicious depends on your baby's exact date, time, and place of birth.
NameRoot works it out for you. Enter your baby's birth details and see exactly which nakshatra and rashi Mai aligns with — and how strongly it scores.
See Mai's birth-star reading →What does Mai's numerology say?
Numerology assigns each name a single-digit destiny number by summing its letter values. Different schools use different mappings — NameRoot computes both so you can see how Mai resonates in either tradition.
Mai's destiny number is 5 — but a number only matters in context. The app matches it to your family's own numbers for a real compatibility read. See Mai's full reading →
Does Mai go with your family's names?
Mai breaks into 2 sounds: /M-AY/. The real test isn't how it sounds alone — it's how it sounds beside the names already in your family: yours, your partner's, and any brothers or sisters. NameRoot scores that harmony, so Mai sits naturally next to a Mum and Dad like Michael & Anna, or a big sister named Gianna — no awkward clashes, no two names that blur together. Hear Mai beside your family's names →
Names similar to Mai
If Mai resonates with you, these names live in the same world — drawn from the same tradition, sharing the same meaning, or echoing a similar sound.
From the same tradition
Other Buddhist girl names, common in SoutheastAsian families
Sharing the same meaning
Other Buddhist girl names from the Nature cluster
Names that sound similar
Buddhist girl names that open with the same syllables as Mai
Explore more names
Keep exploring names like Mai — by tradition, by meaning, or by first letter.
Common questions about Mai
What does the name Mai mean?
Mai means "The yellow apricot blossom of Tet, from the Vietnamese mai, the hoa mai flower that blooms at the Lunar New Year. A familiar Vietnamese feminine name, it ties the bearer to springtime renewal and good fortune, fresh and bright as the new year's first flowering.." It is a girl name of Vietnamese origin, traditionally used in Buddhist families.
Is Mai a boy or girl name?
Mai is most commonly used as a girl name.
What is the origin of the name Mai?
Mai is of Vietnamese origin, used in Buddhist tradition, commonly among SoutheastAsian, Vietnamese families.
Is Mai a Buddhist name?
Yes. Mai is a girl name traditionally used in Buddhist families, of Vietnamese origin.
What does Mai mean in Vietnamese?
Mai originates from Vietnamese, where it means "The yellow apricot blossom of Tet, from the Vietnamese mai, the hoa mai flower that blooms at the Lunar New Year. A familiar Vietnamese feminine name, it ties the bearer to springtime renewal and good fortune, fresh and bright as the new year's first flowering.."
What is the numerology of Mai?
Mai has a Pythagorean destiny number of 5 — freedom and adventurous change.
See how Mai scores for your family
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