Save Type Surname Usage Chinese Scripts 麦(Chinese) 麥(Traditional Chinese) Pronounced Pron. /maɪ̯/ [key·simplify] Meaning & History From Chinese 麦 (mài) meaning "wheat, barley, oats". It was adopted as a family name by the descendants of Maiqiu, a figure from the Spring and Autumn Period, or Mai Tiezheng, a Sui dynasty military general.