Nicknames for Mei
26 ideas for Mei — the short forms people actually use, plus cute, funny and gamer versions. Copy any of them in one click.
- Mei-Mei reduplication, the standard affectionate device
- Ah-Mei the 阿 prefix, warm and everyday
- Xiao Mei little Mei, used by family and elders
- Mei Jie sister Mei, used by younger friends
- A-Mei the shorter romanisation of Ah-Mei
- Da Mei big Mei, for the elder of two
- Mimi the softened doubling used abroad
- May the English spelling used overseas
- Mei-chan the Japanese affectionate suffix
- Meiling the common two-character extension
- Meihua plum blossom, the other extension
- Meiying the third common extension
- Xiaomei the run-together spelling
- Meizi the -zi suffix, affectionate
- Beautiful what the character 美 means
- Plum what the character 梅 means
- Mei-Bao bao means treasure, used by parents
- Lao Mei old Mei, said affectionately between peers
- M initial only, in group chats
- Mei-Bear the affectionate compound used abroad
- Maymay the English-friendly doubling
- Mei-Mei-Bao the full affectionate stack, family use
- Mei Mei Jie the doubled sister form
- Meiko the Japanese -ko form of the same character
- May Day the English joke, made once
- Merry Mei Shares the "M" sound with Mei.
About the name Mei.
One syllable, several possible characters. In Mandarin, mei most often stands for the character glossed as beautiful, the same one used in the Chinese word for America, but plum blossom is a common second choice and rose a third, so the gloss depends on what was written on the household register rather than on anything audible. It is female in Chinese use and traditionally appears as half of a two-character given name, in forms like Mei-Ling or Xiaomei, more often than it stands alone. The identical-sounding Japanese Mei is an entirely separate name with its own kanji, and it has been fashionable for Japanese girls since the 2000s.
One syllable, high and clear, and easy to produce in almost any language, which is part of why Chinese families abroad reach for it. English ears hear something delicate. Inside Chinese it is common enough to pass unremarked, especially among older women, where it was a staple element.
Most popular around 2010. Based on US birth records.
- Origin
- Chinese
- Meaning
- beautiful
- Syllables
- Mei
- Used as
- a girls’ name
Mei around the world.
These are the real forms Mei takes in other languages, which often make excellent nicknames in their own right.
-
Mei
Japanese
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Meiling
Chinese
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Xiaomei
Chinese
Famous people called Mei.
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Mei Nagano
Japanese film and television actress
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Mei Xu
Chinese American entrepreneur and author
Questions about the name Mei
What does Mei mean? +
Beautiful, most commonly, from one of the highest-frequency characters in Chinese given names for women. Plum blossom and rose are the other regular choices. Since Mandarin has many characters sharing the sound, only the written form settles which meaning a particular woman's name carries.
Is Mei Chinese or Japanese? +
Both, independently. The Chinese name uses Chinese characters and the meanings above. The Japanese name is written with its own kanji, often ones read as sprout or bright, and became popular for girls after 2000. Same sound, unrelated histories, and no borrowing between them.
Is Mei used on its own? +
Increasingly among Chinese families abroad, because a single crisp syllable survives English pronunciation intact. Traditionally it was the second element of a compound, as in Mei-Ling or Yumei, or the first in Meihua. Standing alone is more a diaspora habit than a mainland one.
How is it pronounced? +
Like the English word may, with a level first tone in Mandarin that English speakers will not reproduce and are not expected to. The vowel glides from an e toward an i. The common error is stretching it into two syllables, may-ee, which sounds noticeably wrong.