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Maya as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Maya

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The baby name Maya is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈmaɪə/ (MY-ə, common English),/ˈmaʝa/ or /ˈmaja/ (Spanish),/ˈmaː.jaː/ or /ˈmɑː.jɑː/ (Sanskrit/Hindi),/ˈmajɑ/ (Hebrew).

Maya is Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Sanskrit, Spanish in Origin.

Gender: Female
Syllables: 2.0
Origin: Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Sanskrit, Spanish
Pronunciation: /ˈmaɪə/ (MY-ə, common English),/ˈmaʝa/ or /ˈmaja/ (Spanish),/ˈmaː.jaː/ or /ˈmɑː.jɑː/ (Sanskrit/Hindi),/ˈmajɑ/ (Hebrew)

What is the meaning of the name Maya ?

The baby name Maya is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈmaɪə/ (MY-ə, common English),/ˈmaʝa/ or /ˈmaja/ (Spanish),/ˈmaː.jaː/ or /ˈmɑː.jɑː/ (Sanskrit/Hindi),/ˈmajɑ/ (Hebrew).

Maya is Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Sanskrit, Spanish in Origin.

Maya is a cross-cultural feminine name with multiple roots. In Sanskrit, Māyā denotes “illusion, magic, creative power” and appears as both a philosophical concept and the name of Queen Māyā, mother of the Buddha. In Greco-Roman tradition, Maia/Μαῖα is the nurturing goddess of growth and mother of Hermes, also linked to the month of May. In modern Hebrew, Maya serves as a familiar form of Ma’ayan (“spring, fountain”), giving it a water meaning. In Japanese it is a given name written with various kanji, such as 真矢 (“true arrow”) or 摩耶 (the Buddha’s mother).

Usage spread through Europe in the 19th–20th centuries; in Russian it appears as Майя, often associated with the month May (Май). Variants and spellings include Maia, Maja, Mayya, Maiya, Mya, and Mayah; short forms include May. Common pronunciations are MY-uh and MAH-yah.

Maya has the following similar or variant Names

Famous people with the name Maya

Maya Angelou Politician · Born 1928 · United States Maya Angelou was a prominent American author and poet, best known for her autobiographical book 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'. Her work often explored themes of identity, family, and racism. She also recited her poem 'On the Pulse of Morning' at President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993. Mayawati Politician · Born 1956 · India Mayawati is an Indian politician best known for serving multiple terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and for leading the Bahujan Samaj Party. She has been a major figure in Indian politics for her advocacy of Dalits, Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Tribes, and religious minorities.

Celebrity babies named Maya

Name Last Name(s) Mother Mother famous for Fame Level Father Father famous for Fame Level
Maya Hawke Uma Thurman television actor ★★★★★ Ethan Hawke film director ★★★★★
Maya Varsano Gal Gadot television actor ★★★★★
Maya Van Dien Oxenberg Catherine Oxenberg model ★★★★★ Casper Van Dien television actor ★★★★★

Maya – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Ireland Girls 2025 #1 — 874
TM Girls 0 #1 67 574
TM 0 #2 3 66
KH 0 #3 1 102
IL Girls 0 #5 6,291 11,648
FJ 0 #6 1 374
KH Girls 0 #6 1 148
KW Girls 0 #6 3,202 19,177
FJ Girls 0 #8 2 583
OM Girls 0 #9 1,429 15,987
PS Girls 0 #9 3,388 10,981
IL 0 #13 797 6,291
QA Girls 0 #13 811 15,378
KR Girls 0 #15 1 572
Canada Girls 2024 #16 680 2,795
DJ 0 #16 2 322
ET Girls 0 #16 1 372
AE Girls 0 #17 1,986 20,968
PS 0 #17 393 5,692
BW 0 #19 1 960
DJ Girls 0 #19 10 488
ID 0 #28 12 2,238
ID Girls 0 #28 78 3,319
MV Girls 0 #28 8 2,021
BN 0 #29 4 2,297
NL Girls 2014 #31 58 73
SY 0 #31 7,202 11,684
BG Girls 0 #32 366 3,559
BI Girls 0 #32 2 726
NA 0 #32 2 2,537
TM Boys 0 #36 1 614
BG 0 #37 47 1,799
AZ 0 #39 5 706
LB 0 #39 3,274 13,263
GE 0 #43 2 997
AZ Girls 0 #44 31 1,051
BN Girls 0 #46 63 5,459
Switzerland Girls 2024 #50 108 1,786
SA Girls 0 #50 4,169 25,931
United States Girls 2024 #51 4,220 8,487
Austria Girls 2010 #52 132 60
MO 0 #52 1 2,706
JP 0 #53 25 4,057
PR 0 #55 1 1,497
CM 0 #56 1 2,592
CY 0 #60 1 1,632
LU 0 #60 7 2,830
Norway Girls 2025 #65 70 453
New Zealand Girls 2010 #66 46 98
IN 0 #66 6 2,963
JO Girls 0 #69 980 7,570
France Girls 2021 #71 757 3,185
CY Girls 0 #72 50 3,755
AO 0 #74 4 2,729
AF 0 #75 2 1,883
MV Boys 0 #75 5 3,375
Sweden Girls 2022 #78 128 1,568
AF Girls 0 #78 17 2,402
PH 0 #78 19 5,607
SI 0 #78 3 1,612
QA 0 #79 22 7,011
GE Girls 0 #80 25 1,564
AE 0 #81 97 10,220
CN 0 #82 5 3,857
RS 0 #84 1 923
DZ 0 #86 10,199 20,130
KZ 0 #86 9 1,452
LT 0 #86 3 949
TW 0 #87 14 4,523
KW 0 #88 29 5,216
BD Girls 0 #89 533 8,413
OM 0 #89 28 6,215
JM 0 #90 4 3,714
Belgium Girls 2024 #92 98 424
MD Girls 0 #92 1 865
JP Girls 0 #96 190 6,592
IQ Girls 0 #98 880 11,303
SD 0 #98 5 2,130
IN Girls 0 #99 1,359 13,121
EG Girls 0 #103 8,971 14,742
MT Girls 0 #108 44 3,773
GE Boys 0 #109 2 2,055
HU 0 #109 7 1,675
IQ 0 #115 15 3,533
JO 0 #122 16 2,158
RS Girls 0 #123 13 1,651
CY Boys 0 #130 2 3,473
GR 0 #130 6 3,911
AZ Boys 0 #131 1 1,400
BN Boys 0 #132 8 6,332
MU 0 #133 5 3,613
PA 0 #134 5 3,797
ID Boys 0 #135 1 4,130
EE Girls 0 #136 7 1,888
BD 0 #138 91 5,992
MY Girls 0 #138 2,455 24,821
BW Girls 0 #139 10 4,216
TW Girls 0 #141 149 8,139
RU Girls 0 #148 787 11,913
CR 0 #149 10 5,526
RS Boys 0 #152 3 2,277
BW Boys 0 #153 2 4,685
KZ Girls 0 #155 244 5,862
RU 0 #156 34 3,641
TN 0 #162 3,256 13,765
LU Girls 0 #163 23 4,850
HR 0 #164 16 2,081
SI Girls 0 #165 10 2,769
PR Girls 0 #166 2 3,171
DK Girls 0 #169 172 7,429
SD Girls 0 #169 214 7,678
HU Girls 0 #170 55 3,308
AO Girls 0 #172 38 4,575
DK 0 #176 28 5,198
SA 0 #178 118 10,560
CZ 0 #181 6 3,154
UY 0 #181 2 2,477
SG Girls 0 #183 624 18,916
BH 0 #189 471 17,937
NA Girls 0 #189 36 7,146
GR Girls 0 #192 51 6,293
LT Girls 0 #196 5 1,904
MU Girls 0 #202 154 8,539
PL 0 #204 9 2,600
MO Girls 0 #205 47 7,056
BG Boys 0 #214 7 3,850
HR Girls 0 #217 73 3,687
AL Girls 0 #222 6 4,141
EC Girls 0 #222 18 3,650
EG 0 #224 220 6,387
IR 0 #224 8 4,221
NA Boys 0 #226 10 6,830
JM Girls 0 #230 30 7,507
MO Boys 0 #232 3 5,842
AO Boys 0 #233 10 5,568
SG 0 #235 35 11,010
YE 0 #236 155 8,639
GH 0 #241 8 5,396
MA 0 #243 4,006 20,986
PT 0 #245 6 4,161
MY 0 #248 83 12,352
TW Boys 0 #251 6 7,111
NG 0 #265 8 5,926
AF Boys 0 #268 7 3,535
GR Boys 0 #272 2 6,912
CZ Girls 0 #276 67 5,378
PL Girls 0 #276 80 5,096
PH Girls 0 #283 109 13,098
JP Boys 0 #286 12 7,909
GH Girls 0 #288 37 6,973
KZ Boys 0 #291 6 6,578
JM Boys 0 #293 1 6,876
PE 0 #293 18 6,350
Finland Girls 0 #294 100 1,368
GT 0 #300 15 5,948
CN Girls 0 #301 49 8,829
AL Boys 0 #303 1 5,122
CZ Boys 0 #303 3 6,530
BO Girls 0 #310 383 9,488
JO Boys 0 #313 65 7,057
LY 0 #314 241 12,703
Austria Girls 0 #316 106 1,885
CN Boys 0 #327 5 9,639
DK Boys 0 #329 4 7,401
NL 0 #329 63 2,481
BO 0 #333 49 6,868
HK 0 #334 15 8,483
HK Girls 0 #340 321 16,104
PL Boys 0 #340 1 6,459
BR 0 #354 7 5,969
MX 0 #355 59 8,339
KW Boys 0 #356 493 18,755
Finland Girls 2026 #358 756 3,895
GH Boys 0 #361 1 8,138
MU Boys 0 #365 5 8,477
Germany 0 #377 61 2,542
PT Boys 0 #378 4 7,951
Germany Girls 0 #387 636 4,949
PH Boys 0 #400 9 11,440
NL Girls 0 #401 767 5,933
IT Girls 0 #405 2,647 9,415
PT Girls 0 #405 47 7,952
Spain 0 #406 47 2,326
PA Girls 0 #406 76 9,861
IR Girls 0 #410 122 8,334
ZA 0 #410 38 14,421
UY Boys 0 #411 3 5,922
Finland Boys 0 #413 15 2,041
CL 0 #427 8 6,867
CM Girls 0 #427 115 11,671
SD Boys 0 #432 14 10,523
QA Boys 0 #440 276 18,093
CO 0 #448 33 7,768
GT Girls 0 #454 52 7,500
CR Girls 0 #458 75 11,342
GT Boys 0 #465 10 7,625
UY Girls 0 #479 32 6,731
AR Boys 0 #482 2 7,628
MX Girls 0 #482 1,296 17,781
PS Boys 0 #488 61 10,655
RU Boys 0 #489 17 12,621
BD Boys 0 #490 87 10,045
Spain Girls 0 #490 644 5,561
PA Boys 0 #502 4 9,305
CR Boys 0 #503 8 10,188
TR 0 #503 1,985 19,440
HK Boys 0 #508 20 12,905
EG Boys 0 #511 447 15,035
CM Boys 0 #525 26 12,054
PE Girls 0 #546 494 14,861
SG Boys 0 #548 150 17,960
IL Boys 0 #549 59 10,983
IT 0 #555 162 4,183
IR Boys 0 #559 7 10,162
IQ Boys 0 #563 105 13,071
AR Girls 0 #567 33 8,289
BO Boys 0 #579 14 9,244
OM Boys 0 #592 302 17,948
CO Girls 0 #653 501 16,140
NG Girls 0 #671 117 15,093
CL Boys 0 #696 5 13,390
IN Boys 0 #709 308 16,750
BR Girls 0 #716 231 12,708
CL Girls 0 #723 129 14,098
ZA Girls 0 #729 466 25,928
BR Boys 0 #738 14 12,213
AE Boys 0 #744 362 22,615
MY Boys 0 #814 306 25,439
SA Boys 0 #822 1,048 28,008
PE Boys 0 #869 10 14,506
MX Boys 0 #882 101 16,355
CO Boys 0 #883 38 15,656
United States Boys 2020 #893 6 7,187
Spain Boys 0 #908 23 5,610
NG Boys 0 #922 30 16,906
Germany Boys 0 #932 21 5,697
NL Boys 0 #938 14 5,873
ZA Boys 0 #1,047 132 25,619
IT Boys 0 #1,367 105 10,046

Maya is popular in 99 countries — most recent births per country:

France
NL
Norway
Canada
Scotland, United Kingdom

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People also ask about Maya

Maya is predominantly a girl's name.
Maya is a 2 syllable name, pronounced /ˈmaɪə/ (MY-ə, common English),/ˈmaʝa/ or /ˈmaja/ (Spanish),/ˈmaː.jaː/ or /ˈmɑː.jɑː/ (Sanskrit/Hindi),/ˈmajɑ/ (Hebrew).
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Maia, Maja, Mayah, Maaya, Mya and May.
Yes, very popular — Maya ranked #1 in Ireland in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 14 countries.
Maya ranks highest in Ireland (#1 in 2025).
Maya's popularity is holding steady. It moved from #73 in 2011 to #71 in 2021 in France.
Yes — 2 notable people named Maya are in our database, including Maya Angelou (Politician), Mayawati (Politician).
Yes — at least 3 celebrity couples have chosen Maya for their child, including Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke.