Maya is a female name in various languages with various meanings. Originally from Sanskrit, the ancient Indian language, Māyā means "illusion or magic", and is 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 theonym Maia (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
editAll 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] In 2022, it was the 21st most popular name given to girls in Canada.[8]
Notable people named Maya
edit- Maya (High Priest of Amun), a High Priest of Amun until at least year four of Akhenaten
- Maya (Treasurer) (13th century BC), the treasurer to Pharaohs Tutankhamun, Ay, and Horemheb of Egypt
- Maya Ackerman, Russian-American computer scientist
- Maya Ali (born 1989), Pakistani actress
- Maya Angelou (1928–2014), African-American author and poet
- Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam (born 1975), better known as M.I.A., British singer/rapper
- Maya Bar-Hillel (born 1943), Israeli psychologist
- Maya Kalle-Bentzur (born 1958), Israeli Olympic runner and long jumper
- Maya Berović (born 1987), Bosnian pop star
- Maya Bouskilla (born 1977), Israeli singer
- Maya Caldwell (born 1998), American professional basketball player
- Maya Days, American singer
- Maya Deren (1917–1961), American avant-garde filmmaker
- Maya Diab (born 1980), Lebanese singer
- Maya Dolas (1966–1991), Indian gangster
- Maya Erskine (born 1987), American actress
- Maya Gabeira (born 1987), Brazilian surfer
- Maya Hawke (born 1998), American actress
- Maya Higa (born 1998), a conservationist and Twitch streamer who streams under the name
- Maya Katsumura (born 2002) Japanese Idol of Japanese group NiziU
- Maya Kazan (born 1986), American actress and director
- Maya Kulenovic (born 1975), Canadian artist
- Maya Lin (born 1959), American architect and sculptor, designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- Maya Millete (born 1981), American woman who went missing in 2021
- Maya Mishalska (born 1974), Mexican actress
- Maya Moore (born 1989), American basketball player
- Maya Nasri (born 1976), Lebanese singer
- Maya Okamoto (born 1967), Japanese voice actress
- Maya Plisetskaya (1925–2015), Soviet born ballet dancer
- Maya Ritter (born 1993), Canadian actress
- Maya Rudolph (born 1972), American actress and Saturday Night Live cast member
- Maya Sondhi (born 1983), British Indian actress
- Maya Simantov (born 1982), Israeli singer
- Maya Soetoro-Ng (born 1970), Indonesian-American half-sister of U.S. President Barack Obama
- Maya Stojan (born 1984), Swiss actress
- Maya Tahan (born 1999), Israeli tennis player
- Maya Tskitishvili (born 1974), Georgian economist and politician
- Maya Vik (born 1980), Norwegian singer
- Maya Wiley (born 1964), American civil rights activist and lawyer, 2021 mayoral candidate for New York City
- Maya Yoshida (born 1988), Japanese professional footballer
- Maya (singer) (born 1979), South Korean K-Pop singer
- Maya (musician) (born 1979), vocalist of Japanese visual kei band LM.C
Notable animals named Maya
edit- Maya (wolf), a cloned arctic wolf
Fictional characters named Maya
edit- Maya (comics), an Indian DC Comics super-heroine
- Maya (Ninjago), a character in Ninjago
- Maya, the alter ego of the Marvel Comics superhero Paragon
- Maya, the original name given to Aelita in the French animated TV series Code Lyoko
- Maya (Azumanga Daioh), a minor character in the shōnen manga Azumanga Daioh
- Maya (Is the Order a Rabbit?), a character in the manga series Is the Order a Rabbit?
- Maya, one of the main characters in the Redakai: Conquer the Kairu franchise
- Maya, one of the main characters in Hiroki Endo's manga series Eden: It's an Endless World!
- Maya, fictional CIA intelligence analyst who tracked down Osama bin Laden from the film Zero Dark Thirty
- Maya Aida, a.k.a Mana Aida, protagonist of Glitter Force Doki Doki/DokiDoki! Pretty Cure
- Maya the Bee, the main character of the 1912 German children's book The Adventures of Maya the Bee and its various adaptions
- Maya Hansen, a scientific who appeared in Marvel Comics and in the Iron Man 3 film
- Fuuga no Maya, is a male who is half human and half angel in the animated series Saint Beast
- Maya Kennedy, minor character in Futari wa Pretty Cure (originally named Mayu Kashiwada)
- Maya Lopez, the Marvel Comics character known as Echo
- Maya Ibuki, a minor character in the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise
- Maya Markowitz, a character in Raquel Palacio's Wonder
- Maya Santos, a character from the children's animated series Maya & Miguel
- Maya St. Germain, a secondary character in the Pretty Little Liars series of young-adult novels
- Maya Tendo, one of the main characters from the Shojo Kageki Revue Starlight franchise
- Maya Yamato, drummer of the band Pastel＊Palettes from the BanG Dream! franchise
Live action TV
edit- Maya Mehrotra/Maya Arjun Sharma, the lead character from the Sony Entertainment Television India drama series, Beyhadh
- Maya (Power Rangers), the Yellow Ranger in Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy
- Maya, an alien character on the television series Space: 1999
- Maya Bennett, a recurring character in the Disney Channel series The Suite Life on Deck
- Maya Chinn, a character from the American daytime soap opera Passions
- Maya Fisher, a character from the HBO TV show Six Feet Under
- Maya Gallo, a character in the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me
- Maya Herrera, a character in the NBC drama series, Heroes
- Maya Wilkes, a character from the American sitcom Girlfriends
- Maya the Magnificent, the title elephant of the 1966 film and 1967 TV series Maya
- Maya, a minor character in Battlestar Galactica
- Maya Avant, a character from The Bold and the Beautiful
- Maya Matlin, a character in the teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation
- Maya Hart, a character in the Disney Channel show Girl Meets World
- Maya dela Rosa-Lim, a character in ABS-CBN drama series Be Careful with My Heart
- Maya Young, a character in the television series Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight
Games
edit- Maya, a character from video game Killer Instinct 2
- Maya Amano, a character from the Persona video games
- Maya Do'Urden, a sister of Drizzt Do'Urden in Forgotten Realms
- Maya Fey, a secondary character in the Ace Attorney franchise.
- Maya, one of the six playable characters in the video game Borderlands 2
- Maya Ocean, one of the four pre-made mermaids in The Sims 3: Island Paradise
- Maya Torres, one of the playable characters in State Of Decay
- Maya, one of the minor antagonists in Minecraft Story Mode
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ lakṣmī Archived 20 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Monier-Williams' Sanskrit–English Dictionary, University of Washington Archives
- ^ Entry "Maya" at Dicionario de nomes proprios.
- ^ Entry in the Maori dictionary online.
- ^ Most popular Maori baby names for 2012
- ^ الشناوي, عيد (2022-01-01). "آراء الکوفيين في مبنيات الأسماء وأثرها الدلالي في تفسير القرطبي". مجلة علوم العربية. 2 (3): 177–192. doi:10.21608/malu.2022.99255.1006. ISSN 2786-0000.
- ^ "Reference Works — Brill". referenceworks.brillonline.com. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ "Popular Baby Names". Archived from the original on 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
- ^ "Table 17-10-0147-01 First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators (Number)". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
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