Meaning and background
The story behind Mai
Mai is not one name with one translation. In Vietnamese it may use the character 梅 for the flowering plum or Japanese apricot, while Japanese Mai may be written with characters for dance or other ideas. Scandinavian and Estonian usage also has Mai as a short form of Maria; a separate Arabic name is associated with water. For a dog, decide the intended linguistic tradition before choosing a meaning.
- Origin
- Multiple independent uses: Vietnamese 梅, Japanese kanji-based Mai, northern European diminutive of Maria and a dialectal Arabic form. The intended derivation depends on language. Source
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Everyday moments“Mai, come here!”
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About Mai
Recorded as a dog’s name
Mai appears in 5 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/maɪ/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/maɪ/ · primary stress on syllable 1M AY1
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.