Maya
Top 1000
About Maya
Maya, which has an almost mystical image, has been steadily climbing in popularity in the US and the English-speaking world, along with a range of other countries, including France, Germany, Israel, and Brazil. It's ranked in the US Top 100 since the turn of this century, but has never risen to the top of the list, which you may consider a good thing.
In addition to being the name of a Central American culture, Maya was the legendary Greek mother of Hermes by Zeus, and means "illusion" in Sanskrit and Eastern Pantheism. It can also be spelled Maia, though both names have so many possible origins and meanings that not all of them are related.
To the Romans, Maia/Maya was the incarnation of the earth mother and goddess of spring, after whom they named the month of May.
Famed author Maya Angelou was born Marguerite; Maya was coined by her brother saying "mya sister." Its best-known current bearers include performer Maya Rudolph and architect Maya Lin.
Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke's actress daughter is Maya Ray. British designer Phoebe Philo also has a Maya, named for Angelou, as does Israeli actress Gal Gadot.
Pronounced MY-uh.
As of October 2026, Maya ranked #62 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #50 in 2023, Nameberry popularity #65.
Editor's take: The name Maya is a girl's name of Hebrew, Spanish, Greek origin meaning "illusion, magic; mother; water; beloved, bitter, drop of the sea".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #74 | 3,957 | 2,215.1 |
| 2015 | #68 | 4,131 | 2,314.2 |
| 2016 | #64 | 4,089 | 2,307.5 |
| 2017 | #60 | 4,046 | 2,343.5 |
| 2018 | #62 | 3,918 | 2,303.3 |
| 2019 | #64 | 3,820 | 2,276 |
| 2020 | #61 | 3,744 | 2,316 |
| 2021 | #55 | 4,080 | 2,486.5 |
| 2022 | #51 | 4,244 | 2,587.6 |
| 2023 | #50 | 4,085 | 2,545.8 |
| 2024 | #51 | 4,220 | 2,604.6 |
| 2025 | #62 | 3,712 | 2,309.5 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Maya.
- Sofia
- Layla
- Zoe
- Eva
- Chloe
- Zara
- Lila
- Leila
- Mia
- Sienna
- Abagail
- Elena
- Aubrey
- Isabelle
- Camila
- Noelle
- Liliana
- Bella
- Savannah
- Keira
Maya on lists
Famous Mayas
- Maya Micallef
a popular writer on Wattpad
- Maya Stojan
actress
- Maya
Queen of Sakya, mother of Buddha
- Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Ann Johnson)
American poet
- Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam aka M.I.A.
British singer,songwriter
- Maya Mikhaylovna Plisetskaya
Soviet born Spanish,Lithuanian prima ballerina assolata, choreographer, ballet director, and actress
- Maya Deren (born Eleonora Derenkovskaya)
American avant,garde filmmaker
- Maya Khabira Rudolph
American actress and comedienne
- Maya Ying Lin
American architect
- Maya April Moore
American basketball player
- Maya Berovic
Bosnian pop singer
- Maya Gilbert
American actress
- Maya Thompson
American songwriter and cancer activist
- Maya Simantov
Israeli singer,songwriter
- Maya Kulenovic
Bosnian,Canadian painter
- Maya Bouskilla
Israeli pop singer
- Maya Bond
Japanese,American singer,songwriter
- Maya Ritter
Canadian actress
- Gate Maya Samuelsson
Ethiopian,born model; wife of celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson
- Maya Widmaier
Picasso, daughter of painter Pablo Picasso and Marie,Thérèse Walter
- Madeline "Maya" Dirado
American swimmer
- Maya Kassandra Soetoro
half,sister of U.S. President Barack Obama
- Maya Fahey (b. 1989)
daughter of actress Victoria Rowell and Tom Fahey
- Maya Ray Thurman
Hawke (b. 1998), actress; daughter of Uma Thurman & Ethan Hawke
- Maya Celia Sally Wigram (b. 2004)
daughter of designer Phoebe Philo and Max Wigram
- Maya Rose Weisman (b. 2006)
daughter of actor Kevin Weisman
- Maya Versano (b. 2017)
daughter of actress Gal Gadot and Yaron Versano
- Maya Gabeira
Brazilian surfer
Maya in pop culture
- Maya
character in the book series "Maximum Ride" by James Patterson
- Maya Matlin
character on TV's "Degrassi: The Next Generation"
- Maya Ward
character on American soap "General Hospital"
- Maya Fey
character in the "Ace Attorney" video game series
- Maya
main character in 2013 film "Zero Dark Thirty"
- Maya
character in video game "Borderlands 2"
- Maya Santos
main character on animated series "Maya & Miguel," twin to Miguel
- Maya St. Germain
character in the "Pretty Little Liars" series
- Maya Gallo
character on TV's "Just Shoot Me!"
- Maya
recurring character in the "Harvest Moon" video game series
- Maya Bennett
character on TV's "Suite Life on Deck"
- Maya
main character in "Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator"
- Maya Bennett
daughter of Sam and Naomi on TV's "Private Practice"
- Maya Penelope Hart
character on TV's "Girl Meets World" portayed by Sabrina Carpenter
- Maya Tamerlane Fikry
main character in "The Storied Life of AJ Fikry," by Gabrielle Zevins
- Maya
dancer in video game 'Dragon
- Maya Delaney
character in Kelley Armstrong's "Darkness Rising Series"
- Maya Fallegeros
character in the "Killer Instinct" video games series
- Maya
character in TV show "The 100"
- Maya Herrera
Dominican character in TV show "Heroes"
- Maya Vargas
character portrayed by Jennifer Lopez in the 2018 Film "Second Act"