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

Middle Irish Middle Irish, also called Middle Gaelic (, , ), 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 English and Early Middle English. The modern Goideli ...

, 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 (), Méabh(a) () and Méibh (), 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 ...

is a queen in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

who is thought to have originally been a

sovereignty goddess Sovereignty goddess is a scholarly term, almost exclusively used in Celtic studies (although parallels for the idea have been claimed in other traditions, usually under the label ''hieros gamos''). The term denotes a goddess who, personifying a te ...

Usage

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

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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 ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

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

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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

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

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, 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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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

People with the given name

* Medb ingen Indrechtach (), Princess of Connacht *

Maeve Binchy Anne Maeve Binchy Snell (28 May 1939Born 1939 as per biography, ''Maeve Binchy'' by Piers Dudgeon, Thomas Dunne Books 2013; (hardcover), pp. 4, 280, 302; (ebook) – 30 July 2012) was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, column ...

(1940–2012), Irish writer *

Maeve Brennan Maeve Brennan (6 January 1917 – 1 November 1993) was an Irish short story writer and journalist. She moved to the United States in 1934 when her father was assigned by the Department of Foreign Affairs to the Irish Legation in Washingto ...

(1917–1993), Irish short story writer and journalist *

Maeve Dermody Maeve Dermody ( ; born 2 November 1988) 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. Early life She ...

(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 a British 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 New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geogr ...

(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 City. She was a principal actor and writer of the RTÉ television production ''Naked Camera'', as well as for her own show ''Maeve H ...

(born 1981), Irish comedian *

Maeve Hillery Maeve Hillery (; 14 August 1924 – 10 January 2015) was an Irish anaesthetist who was the wife of the 6th President of Ireland, Patrick Hillery. Life and family Mary Beatrice Finnegan was born on 14 August 1924 in Sheffield, Yorkshire. Her ...

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

Maeve Ingoldsby Maeve Ingoldsby McDonagh (1947 – 29 September 2021) also known as Maeve Nic Giolla Iosa, was an Irish writer of the Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) radio comedy show '' Only Slaggin and writer on RTÉ television soap operas '' Glenroe'' ...

(born 1947), Irish writer *

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

(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 Kat ...

, American attorney and academic *

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

(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 ...

(born 1942), British paleontologist *

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 bu ...

(born 1937), American actress * Maeve Murphy, Irish screenwriter and film director *

Maeve O'Boyle Maeve O'Boyle (born 6 October 1987, Glasgow) is a Scottish singer-songwriter who 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 the ag ...

(born 1987), Scottish singer-songwriter *

Maeve O'Connell Maeve O'Connell is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Rathdown constituency since the 2024 general election. Career She has lectured in law and governance at Technological University Dublin. She is ...

, Irish politician * Maeve O'Donovan (born 1990), Irish singer *

Maeve Quaid Maeve Quaid is a senior faculty member in the Business Administration program at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. Quaid was educated at McGill University, the London School of Economics as well as a D.Phil. in Social Sciences from the Uni ...

, Canadian academic *

Maeve Quinlan Maeve Quinlan (born November 16, 1964) is an Irish-American actress. She is best known for starring as Megan Conley for 11 years in ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', as Paula Carin '' South of Nowhere'', and Constance Tate-Duncan in the rebooted ...

(born 1964), American actress and tennis player *

Maeve Sherlock Maeve Christina Mary Sherlock, Baroness Sherlock, (born 10 November 1960) is a British politician serving as a Member of the House of Lords since 2010. A member of the Labour Party, she is an ordained priest of the Church of England. Early lif ...

(born 1960), British peer

Mythological or fictional characters

, often aglicized as Maeve, Queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology *Maeve Benson, in the ABC Family drama ''

Make It Or Break It ''Make It or Break It'' ( ''MIOBI)'' is an American teen/family drama television series that focused on the lives of teen gymnasts who strived to make it to the Olympic Games in 2012. The series was inspired by Touchstone's 2006 teen comedy-dra ...

'', played by

Alice Greczyn Alice Greczyn is an American actress and model best known for roles in the films '' The Dukes of Hazzard'', '' Shrooms'' and '' Sex Drive''. She is also known for appearing in '' Lincoln Heights'', and '' The Lying Game''. Early life Greczyn was ...

*Maeve Donavan, in the American police drama ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...

'' *

Maeve Ludlow ''Doctors'' is a British medical soap opera which began broadcasting on BBC One on 26 March 2000. Set in the fictional West Midlands town of Letherbridge, the soap follows the lives of the staff and patients of the Mill Health Centre, a fictio ...

, fictional character from ''Doctors'' *

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

, a main character in the TV series ''

Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction dystopia media franchise that began with the Westworld (film), 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild West, Wild-West-th ...

'' *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 ...

Sweep (book series) Sweep (Released as Wicca in the UK and Ireland) is a series of young adult fantasy novels written by Cate Tiernan, the first of which, ''Book of Shadows'', was published in 2001. The series follows a teenage girl, Morgan Rowlands, who discovers ...

*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 ...

'', played by

Helen Gallagher Helen Gallagher (July 19, 1926 – November 24, 2024) was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She received three Daytime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Donaldson Award, and a Drama Desk Award. Gallagher's work on the New York stages spa ...

*Maeve Rojas, in

Karen McManus Karen M. McManus (born 1969) is an American author of young adult fiction. She is most known for her first novel, ''One of Us Is Lying'', which spent more than five years on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list, as well as its sequels '' One ...

'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. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

'' *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 human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...

'', played by

Emma Mackey Emma Margaret Marie Tachard-Mackey (born ) is a British and French actress. Her breakthrough performance in the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Sex Education'' (2019–2023) earned her a British Academy Television Award nomination. Mackey has ...

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

The Adventures of Sinbad ''The Adventures of Sinbad'' is a Canadian action-adventure fantasy television series which aired from 1996 to 1998. It follows the story of the pilot of the same name. It revolves around the series' protagonist, Sinbad. The series is a re-telli ...

'' *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 high fantasy novel series by American author Sarah J. Maas, beginning with the entry of the same name, released on August 2, 2012. The story follows the journey of Celaena Sardothien, a teenage assassin in a corrupt kin ...

'' 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 fiction, mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, ''Storm Front (The Dresden Files), Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was p ...

'' series by

Jim Butcher Jim Butcher (born October 26, 1971) is an American author., He has written the contemporary Fantasy literature, fantasy ''The Dresden Files'', ''Codex Alera'', and ''Cinder Spires'' book series. Personal life Butcher was born in Independence, M ...

*Queen Maeve, a superhero who is part of "The 7" on the comic book '' The Boys'' and its streaming adaptation. *Maebh, character in the 8th series, 10th episode of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', "In the Forest of the Night". *Queen Meve, Queen of Lyria and Rivia in ''

The Witcher ''The Witcher'' (, ) is a series of 9 fantasy novels and 15 short stories by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous witcher, Geralt of Rivia. Witchers are monster hunters given superhuman abilities for the ...

'' universe, who gave

Geralt Geralt of Rivia () is a fictional character and the protagonist of ''The Witcher'' series of short stories and novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. He is a magically enhanced monster-hunter known as a "witcher", who possesses supernatural a ...

his title "of Rivia" *Mebh Óg MacTíre, a main character in the animated film ''

Wolfwalkers ''Wolfwalkers'' is a 2020 independent animated fantasy adventure film directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, and is the third instalment in Moore's "Irish Folklore Trilogy", following his previous films ''The Secret of Kells'' (2009) and ''S ...

References

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