Maeve

Today's Name of the Week post is all about the name Maeve.

MEANING AND ORIGIN:

Maeve is the Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Medb, which was the name of a warrior queen from Irish legend. It means "intoxicating". 

PRONOUNCIATION:

The name is pronounced "mayv".

USAGE:

Medb, also spelled Medbh and Meadhbh, came into use in medieval Ireland. These names were translated into the English Maeve, which replaced the other spellings in the late 1800s. Maeve was popular in Ireland  in the late 1900s. 

However, Maeve has only recently risen in the English-speaking world. Maeve was first recorded for at least five girls in 1940. It entered the top 1000 for the first time in 1997 and now ranks at #244, a large jump from #334 in 2018. Maeve could hit the top 100 over the next decade. 

FAMOUS PEOPLE:

  • Maeve Brennan (1997-1993), Irish short story writer.
  • Maeve Binchy Snell (1939-2012), Irish novelist who portrayed Irish small-town life in her novels.
  • Maeve G. Leakey (1942-), British paleontologist who studies early hominid evolution.
  • Maeve Jinkings (1976-), Brazilian actress. 
  • Maeve Higgins (1981-), Irish comedian who wrote We Had a Good Time, Don't We? in 2012.
  • Maeve Dermody (1985-), Australian actress. 
  • Maeve Press (2003-), American actress. 
  • Maeve Taylor-Flynn (2008-), daughter of American actress Lili Taylor and American writer Nick Flynn.
POP CULTURE:

  • Maeve Donovan, character in TV's Criminal Minds (2005-2020).
  • Maeve Wiley, character in Netflix's Sex Education (2019).
USIBILITY:

Maeve is definitely usable. It fits in with Irish names like Nora and Riley along with middle-"v" names like Ava and Everly. Maeve has the long "a" sound featured in Sadie and Hazel as well. One warning I have about this name is that it might get popular very soon. There is nothing wrong with using a popular name, but I would like to warn you just in case it bothers you.

STYLES:

Celtic, Modern Traditional, Short and Sweet

SIBLING NAME IDEAS:

Sister names: Afton, Coraline, Fiona, Isla, Luna, Molly, Nora, Piper, Scarlett, Tessa

Brother names: Archer, Brendan, Finn, Holden, Jude, Liam, Malcolm, Owen, Sawyer, Wyatt

MIDDLE NAME IDEAS:

  • Maeve Amelia
  • Maeve Brooklyn
  • Maeve Penelope
  • Maeve Lucy
  • Maeve Mariah
  • Maeve Eloise
  • Maeve Hannah
  • Maeve Sophia
  • Maeve Roberta
  • Maeve Delia
Thank you for reading this week's featured name. You are free to request ideas for next week in the comments below.

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