Maya (given name)


Maya is a primarily feminine name in various languages with various meanings.
Originally from Sanskrit, the ancient Indian language, Māyā means "the illusory nature of reality or the illusion of creation", and is an alternate name of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi.
In the Tupi language, of southern Brazil, it means "mother", while Mayara means "grandmother". In the Māori language, the name means "courage" or "bravery", and is popular for Māori girls in New Zealand. The name may be a variant form of the Greek theonym Maia, the eldest of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes in Greek and Roman mythology.
Variously spelled Maia or Maja it can also be used as a short form of Maria or Mary in Christian culture such as Germany, the Scandinavian countries, and various East European and Balkan countries. Maya is also used as a short form for the name Amalia or the Basque name Amaia or Amaya in Spanish-speaking countries.
Another variant of Maya is the Arabic name Mayya which comes from May which means either good servant, pretty woman or water, It was also a popular name among medieval Arab women, one of the more notable ones being Mayya Bint Muqatil the lover of the Arab poet Dhul-Rumma
In Hebrew Maya can be derived from the word Mayim which means Water.
Maya is also a Japanese given name, with different meanings depending on the kanji used.
In China, it is pronounced as 玛雅. In Korea, it is also pronounced as 마야.

Popularity

All variants of the name are well-used in the English-speaking world and other countries. Maya has ranked among the one thousand most popular names for girls in the United States since 1970 and among the top one hundred most popular names for American girls since 2002. Spelling variant Maia has ranked among the top one thousand names for American girls since 1996. In 2022, it was the 21st most popular name given to girls in Canada.

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Notable animals named Maya

Fictional characters named Maya

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