Maya is a female name in various languages with various meanings. In Sanskrit, for instance,
Māyā means "illusion or magic", and is also an alternate name of the Hindu goddess
Lakshmi.[1] In the
Tupi language, of southern Brazil, it means "mother", while Mayara means "grandmother".[2] In the
Māori language, the name means "courage" or "bravery",[3] and is popular for
Māori girls in
New Zealand.[4] The name may be a variant form of the Greek
theonymMaia (Μαῖα in
Ancient Greek), 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 (meaning "the end") in Spanish-speaking countries.[citation needed]
Another variant of Maya is the
Arabic name Mayya (مية) which comes from May (مي) which means either good servant, pretty woman or water,[5] 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[6]
In
Hebrew Maya can be derived from the word Mayim (מים) which means Water.[citation needed]
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.[7]
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
Maya is a female name in various languages with various meanings. In Sanskrit, for instance,
Māyā means "illusion or magic", and is also an alternate name of the Hindu goddess
Lakshmi.[1] In the
Tupi language, of southern Brazil, it means "mother", while Mayara means "grandmother".[2] In the
Māori language, the name means "courage" or "bravery",[3] and is popular for
Māori girls in
New Zealand.[4] The name may be a variant form of the Greek
theonymMaia (Μαῖα in
Ancient Greek), 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 (meaning "the end") in Spanish-speaking countries.[citation needed]
Another variant of Maya is the
Arabic name Mayya (مية) which comes from May (مي) which means either good servant, pretty woman or water,[5] 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[6]
In
Hebrew Maya can be derived from the word Mayim (מים) which means Water.[citation needed]
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.[7]
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.