Mei

Meaning & origin

Mei is a girl's name of Chinese origin, traditionally used in Buddhist families. The name means "Beautiful, the plum blossom that flowers in winter when all other trees are bare — Mei is one of the most beloved Chinese names, carrying the resilience of the plum tree that blooms in snow and has become a symbol of perseverance and hope. In Chinese art the plum blossom represents the triumph of beauty over hardship, and the name promises a child whose loveliness will be most radiant precisely when the world is coldest" and belongs to the Nature cluster — names drawn from the natural world — earth, water, sky.

Beyond its Buddhist heritage, Mei is also used in Atheist traditions, reflecting how this name has traveled across cultures.

Common among Chinese, Taiwanese, HongKonger, Singaporean, Malaysian families, Mei carries cultural weight that goes beyond its dictionary definition — it's a name with a story and a community.

Numerology of Mei

Numerology assigns each name a single-digit destiny number by summing its letter values. Different schools use different mappings — NameRoot computes both so you can see how Mei resonates in either tradition.

How Mei sounds

NameRoot scores the phonetic fit of every name against the sound of your last name. The pronunciation of Mei breaks down into 2 phonemes: /M-EY/. In the app, you'll see how those sounds flow with your family name across rhythm, stress, and consonant clusters.

Nicknames

Common affectionate forms of Mei — useful for everyday family conversation, early childhood, or as standalone given names themselves.

The six signals, applied to Mei

NameRoot scores every name across six independent dimensions. Here's how Mei maps to each — install the app to see the full compatibility score for your specific family.