girl's name
Mamie
MAY-mee
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 78,242
Ireland
#368
1965 births
Mamie has no single parent — it shortens Mary, Margaret and Miriam alike, and Mary's own meaning has never been established, so the name inherits an unresolved question three ways. We record 78,242 lifetime births for it, strongest in the United States.
- Mamie is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1919, when 1,800 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 174,520 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Mamie over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 6,341 |
| 1890s | 10,112 |
| 1900s | 10,650 |
| 1910s | 14,584 |
| 1920s | 14,890 |
| 1930s | 8,289 |
| 1940s | 5,782 |
| 1950s | 3,588 |
| 1960s | 1,646 |
| 1970s | 816 |
| 1980s | 558 |
| 1990s | 330 |
| 2000s | 245 |
| 2010s | 230 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 124 |
What Mamie means
Mamie means pearl through Margaret, or Mary's unrecovered meaning through Mary. The parent names are unrelated and the short form does not distinguish between them.
Where Mamie comes from
Mamie is a pet form without a fixed parent: Mary, from the Hebrew Miriam, whose derivation has never been established; Margaret, from the Greek margarites, a pearl; and Miriam directly. It also functions as a childish form of mother in several languages, which may have reinforced it. Mamie Eisenhower was the most visible bearer, and the name is strongly associated with the American South in the late nineteenth century.
Mamie in use
Mamie peaked in the United States in 1919, when 1,800 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 6,258th in the United States on 19 births, across 78,242 lifetime births. Our records carry it from 1880.
How popular is Mamie?
In 2025, Mamie was given to 19 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Where Mamie is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Mamie
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Mamie also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Mamie over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Mamie 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 Mamie
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Mamie — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Mamie
What does the name Mamie mean?
Pearl through Margaret, or Mary's unrecovered meaning through Mary. The parents are unrelated.
What is Mamie short for?
Mary, Margaret or Miriam — and it also stands on its own.
Is it connected to mother?
It functions as a childish word for mother in several languages, which may have reinforced the name.
How popular is Mamie?
6258th in the United States, and our data marks it stable.
Is Mamie a girl's or a boy's name?
Mamie is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Mamie?
Mamie has 2 syllables.
Is Mamie a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Mamie currently ranks #6,258 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.