boy's name
Maël
ma-EL
- Origin Breton
- Gender Boy
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 100 (France)
- Births on record 84,572
France
#10
2025 births
Maël is a boy's name of Breton origin meaning "chief" or "prince," borne by a sixth-century saint. It ranks tenth in France and is one of the clearest examples of Brittany's Celtic naming tradition entering the French mainstream.
- Maël is a name of Breton origin.
- Peaked in France in 2022, when 3,755 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 218 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1968.
Maël over time
Births per decade in France, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 10 |
| 1970s | 460 |
| 1980s | 1,950 |
| 1990s | 4,780 |
| 2000s | 19,080 |
| 2010s | 34,815 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 20,110 |
What Maël means
Maël means chief, prince or lord. It comes from a Celtic element meaning a chief or a prince, and in some readings a servant devoted to a lord, which is the sense behind the many Irish and Breton names beginning Mael-.
Where Maël comes from
Maël comes from the Breton and Old Celtic mael, a prince or chieftain. It belongs to Saint Maël, a Breton hermit of the fifth or sixth century who came from Britain with Saint Cadfan, part of the migration that gave Brittany both its population and its name. The same element appears across the Celtic languages in compounds meaning a devotee of a saint, as in the Irish Máel Sechnaill. Maël's modern popularity is a Breton revival: names from Brittany moved from regional to national use in France through the late twentieth century, and Maël, Malo and Gwenaëlle rose together. The diaeresis marks the e as separately sounded, so the name is two syllables, not one.
Maël in use
Maël ranks tenth in France with about 2,865 births in 2025, and our French series records it only from 1968, so its whole rise is recent. It has barely left France: the unaccented Mael appears at 1,098 in the United States and 1,364 in England and Wales. Its peak in our records is 2022, which makes it one of the few names in the French top ten that has already turned.
How popular is Maël?
In 2025, Maël was given to 2,705 babies in France, ranking #10 that year. It is one of the most popular names in France.
Where Maël is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Maël is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mael | Mael is a spelling of Maël, used in the United States, where it ranks #1,098. | 36,967 |
| Maél | Maél is a rare spelling of Maël, written with an acute accent and recorded about 30 times, mostly in France. | 30 |
| Maêl | Maêl is a rare spelling of Maël, written with a circumflex and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Maël
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Maël also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Maël over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Maël in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Maël
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Maël — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Maël
What does the name Maël mean?
Maël means "chief" or "prince," from a Celtic element meaning a lord or a devotee of one.
Is Maël a French name?
It is Breton, from Brittany, and has moved into general French use since the late twentieth century.
How do you pronounce Maël?
ma-EL, two syllables. The diaeresis marks the e as separately sounded.
How popular is Maël?
It ranks tenth in France, though its peak in our records was 2022.
Is Maël a girl's or a boy's name?
Maël is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
Is Maël a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Maël currently ranks #10 in France. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.