- May 1 Jennifer Botterill, Canadian ice hockey forward (Olympic gold 2002, 06, 10; Toronto Aeros, Harvard), born in Ottawa, Canada
- May 1 Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby union flanker (Italy 106 caps; Benetton Treviso, Stade Français), born in Padova, Italy
- May 2 Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- May 2 Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player, born in Murmansk, Russia (d. 2003)
- May 4 Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan rugby union winger (5 Tests England; Gloucester Rugby, La Rochelle) and rugby league winger (12 Tests NZ; Canberra Raiders, Bradford Bulls), born in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
- May 7 Katie Douglas, American basketball player
- May 9 Brandon Webb, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 2006, 07, 08; NL Cy Young Award 2006; NL wins leader 2006, 08; Arizona Diamondbacks), born in Ashland, Kentucky
- May 12 Andre Carter, American football player and coach, born in Denver, Colorado
- May 12 Steve Smith, American football player, orn in Los Angeles, California
- May 14 Carlos Tenorio, Ecuadorian soccer forward (50 caps; LDU Quito, Al-Sadd), born in Esmeraldas, Ecuador
- May 14 Clinton Morrison, English-born Irish footballer
- May 15 Adolfo "Bofo" Bautista, Mexican professional footballer, 1998-2016, born in Dolores Hidalgo, Mexico
- May 17 Wayne Thomas, English footballer, born in Gloucester, England
- May 18 Julián Speroni, Argentine footballer (Crystal Palace), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- May 18 Mariusz Lewandowski, Polish footballer (Shakhtar Donetsk), born in Legnica, Poland
- May 18 Milivoje Novakovič, Slovenian footballer, born in Ljubljana, Slovenia
- May 19 Andrea Pirlo, Italian footballer
- May 19 Diego Forlán, Uruguayan footballer
- May 21 Damián Ariel Álvarez, Argentinian Mexican footballer, born in Morón, Argentina
- May 21 Scott Smith, mixed martial arts fighter, born in Reno, Nevada
- May 23 Kirk Saarloos, American baseball player
- May 24 Frank Mir, American UFC fighter and professional wrestler, born in Las Vegas, Nevada
- May 24 Joe Kennedy, American MLB baseball pitcher. 2001-07 (Tampa Bay Devil Rays and 4 other teams), born in La Masa, California (d. 2007)
- May 24 Tracy McGrady, American Basketball Hall of Fame forward (NBA All-Star 2001–07; NBA scoring champion 2003, 04; Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets), born in Bartow, Florida
- May 25 Caroline Ouellette, French Canadian ice hockey player, born in Montreal, Quebec
Jonny Wilkinson (44 years old)
May 25 English international and Newcastle Falcons rugby player, born in Frimley, England
- May 25 Sam Sodje, Nigerian footballer, born in Greenwich, London
- May 26 Mehmet Okur (Memo), Turkish basketball player
- May 27 Mile Sterjovski, Australian footballer
- May 28 Joeri Jansen, Belgian athlete
- May 29 Arne Friedrich, German soccer defender, coach (Germany 82 caps, Hertha BSC), born in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany
- May 30 Mike Bishai, Canadian ice hockey player
About May 1979
How Old? 44 years old
Generation: Generation X
Leap Year: No
Chinese Zodiac: Goat/Sheep
Star Signs: Taurus (Apr 20 - May 20), Gemini (May 21 - Jun 20)
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions