Maeve, Maev or Maiv is a female given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish name ''Méabh'', which was spelt in early modern Irish (), or in

Middle Irish Middle Irish, sometimes called Middle Gaelic ( ga, An Mheán-Ghaeilge, gd, Meadhan-Ghàidhlig), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from AD; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old Engli ...

, and in Old Irish (). It may derive from a word meaning "she who intoxicates", "mead-woman", or alternatively "she who rules".

Medb Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méibh () and Méabh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had seve ...

is a queen in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by C ...

who is thought to have originally been a sovereignty goddess.

Usage

Maeve (in that spelling) was a Top 100 girls' name in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

for all but 12 of the 46 years between 1964 and 2009, and Meabh ranked 99th on the list of the most popular Irish girls' names of 2020. In

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, Maeve was a Top 100 girls' name between 1997 and 2004, and Meabh ranked 44th in 2017. It ranked 218th on the list of most popular names for girls in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in 2020 and had risen in popularity to 94th position in 2020 in those countries. It has ranked among the top 100 names for girls since 2020 in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, where it was the 72nd most popular name in 2021. It has also increased in usage in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, where it was among the top 500 names for girls in 2014 and again between 2017 and 2021. It was the 44th most common name for newborn Dutch girls in 2021. Maeve has ranked among the 1,000 most popular names for girls born in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

since 1997, among the top 500 names since 2013, and among the top 150 names since 2021.

People with the given name

, Queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology *

Medb ingen Indrechtach mac Muiredaig Medb ingen Indrechtach, Queen of Ailech, fl. 8th century. Family tree Indrechtaig, died 723. , , ____ ...

, Princess of Connacht, fl. 800 * Maeve Binchy (1940–2012), Irish writer * Maeve Brennan (1917–1993), Irish short story writer and journalist *

Maeve Dermody Maeve Dermody ( ; born 2 November 1985) is a UK-based Australian actress. After a film appearance at 5 years old, her adult acting career has included work in Australian and British television, theatre, short films, and movies. She characterises ...

(born 1985), Australian actress *

Maeve Fort Dame Maeve Geraldine Fort (19 November 1940 – 18 September 2008) was a British diplomat. During her posting as the United Kingdom's High Commissioner in South Africa from 1996 to 2000, she was the highest ranking female diplomat in Her Majest ...

(born 1940), British diplomat *

Maeve Gilmore Maeve Patricia Mary Theresa Gilmore (14 June 19173 August 1983) was a British painter, sculptor and writer, and the wife of author Mervyn Peake. Early life Gilmore was born in 1917 and brought up in Brixton, south London, where her father, ...

(1917–1983), British artist and wife of

Mervyn Peake Mervyn Laurence Peake (9 July 1911 – 17 November 1968) was an English writer, artist, poet, and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the '' Gormenghast'' books. The four works were part of what Peake conceived ...

Maeve Harris Maeve Harris (born September 1, 1976 in New Jersey) is a Seattle-based American abstract painter noted for merging "nature and the abstract". Career Her paintings were featured prominently on episodes of the TV show ''Celebrity Apprentice''. He ...

(born 1976), American abstract painter *

Maeve Higgins Maeve Anna Higgins (born 24 March 1981) is a comedian from Cobh, County Cork, Ireland and is based in New York. She was a principal actor and writer of the RTÉ television production '' Naked Camera'', as well as for her own show ''Maeve Higgi ...

(born 1981), Irish comedian * Maeve Hillery (née Finnegan), retired Irish doctor, the widow of Patrick Hillery, President of Ireland 1976–90 *

Maeve Ingoldsby Maeve Ingoldsby (1947 - 2021) was a former writer of the Raidió Teilifís Éireann radio show '' Only Slaggin and former writer on RTÉ soap operas Glenroe and Fair City. She is a well-known playwright and satirist. She has also written nume ...

(born 1947), Irish writer *

Maeve Jinkings Maeve Jinkings Melo Silva (born 4 August 1976) is a Brazilian actress. Early life Jinkings was born in Brasilia, Brazil's capital, the daughter of a merchant and a photojournalist. At the age of five she moved with her mother to Belém, Par ...

(born 1976), Brazilian actress *

Maeve Kelly Maeve Kelly (born 1930) is an Irish writer. Career Kelly was born in Ennis, County Clare and raised in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. She settled in Limerick and studied nursing at St. Andrew's Hospital in London London is the capital ...

(born 1930), Irish writer *

Maeve Kennedy McKean Maeve Fahey Kennedy McKean (''née'' Townsend; November 1, 1979 – April 2, 2020) was an American public health official, human rights attorney, and academic. A member of the Kennedy family, she was a daughter of Maryland Lieutenant Governor Ka ...

, American attorney and academic *

Maeve Kinkead Maeve Kinkead (born May 31, 1946) is an American soap opera actress, writer and poet. Acting After numerous roles on stage, Kinkead's first major role was as Angie Perrini on the soap ''Another World (TV series), Another World'' (1975–80). ...

(born 1946), American actress *

Meave Leakey Meave G. Leakey (born Meave Epps; 28 July 1942) is a British palaeoanthropologist. She works at Stony Brook University and is co-ordinator of Plio-Pleistocene research at the Turkana Basin Institute. She studies early hominid evolution and has ...

, paleontologist, born 1942 *

Maeve Ludlow ''Doctors (2000 TV series), Doctors'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British Medical drama, medical soap opera which began broadcasting on BBC One on 26 March 2000. Set in the fictional West Midlands (region), West Midlands town of Leth ...

, fictional character from ''Doctors'' *

Maeve McCarthy C. Maeve Lewis McCarthy is an Irish mathematician whose research interests include inverse problems and modelling biological systems. She is the Jesse D. Jones Endowed Professor of Mathematics at Murray State University in Kentucky. Education an ...

, Irish mathematician *

Maeve McGuire Maeve McGuire (born July 24, 1937) is an American actress, known for her role as "Nicole Travis Drake" on the soap opera ''The Edge of Night'', which she played from 1968 to 1974 and from 1975 to 1977. Nicole originally started off as a schemer b ...

(born 1937), American actress *

Maeve Murphy Maeve Murphy is a Northern Irish screenwriter and film director. Her 2002 film ''Silent Grace'' was selected to represent the UK for Cannes. In 2011 her short film Sushi, won the Sub-ti short film competition, co judged by Venice Days, Venice F ...

, Irish screenwriter and film director *

Maeve O'Boyle Maeve O'Boyle (born 6 October 1987, Glasgow) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. O'Boyle is known for her voice and her songs and stories. O'Boyle's Career began at the age of 16 as a top-line lyricist and melody writer for various pop acts. By t ...

(born 1987), Scottish singer-songwriter * Maeve O'Donovan (born 1990), Irish singer * Maeve Quaid, Canadian academic * Maeve Quinlan (born 1964), American actress and tennis player * Maeve Sherlock (born 1960), British peer

Other

* Queen Maeve International Summer School, or ''Scoil Samhraidh Miosgán Medbha'', one of Ireland's traditional music summer schools *

Stella Maeve Stella Maeve Johnston is an American film and television actress. Highlights include a starring role in ''The Runaways'' (2010), a two-season recurring role in NBC television's ''Chicago P.D.'', and a main role in SyFy television's '' The Magic ...

(born 1989), American actress

In popular culture

*Maeve Benson, in the ABC Family drama '' Make It Or Break It'', played by Alice Greczyn *Maeve Donavan, in the American police drama ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

'' *

Maeve Millay Maeve Millay is a fictional character in the television series, ''Westworld'', in which she is portrayed by English actress, Thandiwe Newton. She is one of the most prominent characters featured in the series. Maeve is a host who acts as the mada ...

, a main character in the TV series '' Westworld'' *Maeve Ridordan, in

Cate Tiernan Cate Tiernan (born July 24, 1961) is the pen name of Gabrielle Charbonnet, an American author. Writing as Cate Tiernan, she is best known for her ''Sweep'' series, which follows the Wiccan adventures of a cast of high school students. The stor ...

's Sweep (book series) *Maeve Ryan, in the American soap opera ''

Ryan's Hope ''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in th ...

'', played by

Helen Gallagher Helen Gallagher (born July 19, 1926) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She is the recipient of three Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Drama Desk Award. Early years Born in Brooklyn, she was raised in Scarsdale, New York, and the Br ...

*Maeve Rojas, in Karen McManus’s One of Us book series *Maeve Stoddard, in the American soap opera ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'' *Maeve Wiley, in the Netflix series ''

Sex Education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...

'', played by

Emma Mackey Emma Margaret Marie Tachard-Mackey (born 4 January 1996) is a French-born British actress. Her breakthrough performance as Maeve Wiley, a sardonic teenager, in the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Sex Education'' (2019–present), earned her a Br ...

*Maeve, a sorceress in the Canadian TV series ''

The Adventures of Sinbad ''The Adventures of Sinbad'' is a Television in Canada, Canadian Action genre, Action/Adventure Fantasy television series which aired from 1996 to 1998. It follows on the story from the pilot of the same name. It revolves around the series' prot ...

'' *Maeve, a flanker class character in the popular video game '' Paladins: Champions of the Realm'' *Maeve, a Fae Queen in the ''

Throne of Glass ''Throne of Glass'' is a young adult high fantasy novel series by American author Sarah J. Maas, beginning with the entry of the same name, released in August 2012. The story follows the journey of Celaena Sardothien, a teenage assassin in a cor ...

'' series *Maeve, The Winter Lady, the youngest of the Winter Queens, who is The Queen Who Is To Come in ''

The Dresden Files ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, '' Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was published in 2000 by Roc Books. The books are wri ...

'' series by Jim Butcher *Queen Maeve, a superhero who is part of "The 7" on the series ''

The Boys Boys are young male humans. Boys or The Boys may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''The Boys'' (1962 British film), a courtroom drama by Sidney J. Furie * ''The Boys'' (1962 Finnish film), a war drama by Mikko Niskanen * ''Boys'' ( ...

''. *Maebh, character in the 8th series, 10th episode of ''Doctor Who'', "In the Forest of the Night". *Queen Meve, Queen of Lyria and Rivia in '' The Witcher'' universe, who gave Geralt his title "of Rivia" *Mebh Óg MacTíre, a main character in the animated film '' Wolfwalkers''

References

{{Given name, type=both, cat1=Irish-language feminine given names Ulster Cycle Characters in Táin Bó Cúailnge