Name Maya - meaning, origin, numerology

Maya is a feminine name with multiple meanings. In Hindu philosophy, Māyā means "illusion" and in Hindu mythology, it is also an alternate name of the Hindu goddess Durga. According to tradition, Queen Māyā of Sakya was also the name of the mother of Siddartha Gautama, the Buddha. In Hebrew, the name Maya (מַיָּה/מאיה in Hebrew) is a short form of "ma'ayan," meaning "spring" or "brook." In Old Persian the name means "generous."

Maya can also be a name used as a tribute to the Maya peoples of southern Mexico and northern Central America or to the Maya, a group of Indigenous Australians. Additionally, Maya can be a name of Japanese origin, with different meanings. Variants include Mayako and Mayaka. Mount Maya is a Japanese mountain named for the mother of Buddha.

Maya or Mya is also a name used by Muslims. In an Arabian and Indian-Pakistani context the meaning of the name Mya is ‘princess’ or ‘honourable matriarch'. In the Nepali language, "Maya" means "love."

The name is also used as a variant form of the Greek-origin name Maia (Μαια in Ancient Greek), the eldest of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes in Greek and Roman mythology. The unrelated name Maia, meaning "palm tree" in the Māori language, is popular for Māori girls in New Zealand.

Sometimes spelled Maja, it can also be used as a short form of Maria or Mary in Germany, Scandinavian countries, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Macedonia. 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.

The similar sounding Japanese name Mayu means "truth, reason," while some sources say Amaya (pronounced A-MAH-YAH) is a Japanese name meaning "night rain"

Maya has been a popular name for girls in recent years. It is currently among the top hundred names used for baby girls in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Norway, and Israel as well as in other countries. Alternate spellings proliferate, with the name sometimes spelled Maia, Maja, Maiya, Miya, Mya, or Myah. The similar name Mia is also sometimes used as a spelling variant of Maya.

---

English: Latinate version of May or a respelled form of the name of the Roman goddess Māia, influenced by the common English name May. The goddess Maia was one of the Pleiades, the daughters of Atlas and Pleione; she was the mother by Jupiter of mercury. Her name seems to be derived from the root māi- great, seen also in Latin māior larger. In the case of the Black American writer Maya Angelou (b. 1928), Maya is a nickname acquired in early childhood as a result of her younger brother's reference to her as ‘mya sista’.

The section "History and Origin" of this page contains content from the copyrighted Wikipedia article "Maya (given name)"; that content is used under the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL). You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.