Maya
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Meaning
"illusion, magic" in Sanskrit; separately, an English variant of Maia and a Hebrew name derived from mayim, "water"
Famously borne by Maya Gabeira, who holds the record for the largest wave ever surfed by a woman.
The story
At home, Bailey gave his younger sister Marguerite Johnson the nickname Maya. The nickname became the public name of the poet and internationally known author Maya Angelou. Its familiar expansion as "my sister" is not documented by the official legacy source. This family moment is one history of the exact spelling, not the origin of every Maya. The name has several unrelated routes. In a Sanskrit tradition, Maya means "illusion, magic"; separately, English Maya is a variant of Maia, and Hebrew Maya derives from mayim, "water." No individual bearer automatically carries all of those meanings. Angelou's life also does not explain why other families used the name. What the scene does offer is intimate movement: a brother's household nickname travels with his sister into books, poems, and a public literary life.
The formal names behind Maya
Maya is an established short form of this name.
Amaya · Basque origin · variant of Amaia, from Basque amaia, the end
How popular is Maya around the world?
In the United States, 24,115 babies were named Maya between 2020 and 2025. In Scotland, 159 girls named Maya were registered in 2024, the 19th most common name among girls that year.
Maya is on the official records of the United States, Scotland, Norway, England and Wales, Ireland, South Australia, Canada, Austria, France, New Zealand, Mexico City, New South Wales, Poland, Chile, Montevideo, Brazil, Spain and Argentina.
Maya crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 900
In the United States, 24,115 babies were named Maya between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Maya peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Scotland
1 in 290
In Scotland, 159 girls named Maya were registered in 2024, the 19th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Norway
1 in 380register 2026
In Norway, 70 girls were given the name Maya in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
England and Wales
1 in 460
In England and Wales, 1,259 girls named Maya were born in 2025, the 28th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
1 in 500
In Ireland, 108 girls named Maya were born in 2025, the 40th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
South Australia
1 in 5302017
In South Australia, 35 girls were registered as Maya in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 540
In Canada, 680 girls named Maya were born in 2024, the 16th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Austria
1 in 810
In Austria, 94 girls named Maya were born in 2025, the 83rd most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
France
1 in 1,000
In France, about 635 girls named Maya were born in 2025, the 76th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
New Zealand
1 in 1,200
In New Zealand, 50 girls named Maya were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Mexico City City
1 in 1,200
In Mexico City, there were 97 registrations of Maya in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (6 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
New South Wales
#53 · 2025
In New South Wales, 124 girls named Maya were registered in 2025, ranked 53rd in that year’s top 100 for girls.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Poland
1 in 2,700
In Poland, 90 girls named Maya were born in 2025, the 124th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Chile
1 in 5,200
In Chile, 34 girls were registered as Maya in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Montevideo City
1 in 6,2002011
In Montevideo, 4 girls named Maya were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Brazil
1 in 8,700
At the 2022 census, 23,446 people in Brazil were named Maya, the 958th most common name, with a median age of 1.
Among people named Maya living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 16,831 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Spain
1 in 11,000
In Spain, 4,261 residents are named Maya, the 532nd most common name among women, with a mean age of 14.6 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
1 in 19,000
In Argentina, 35 newborns were given the name Maya in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Puerto Rico
last on record 2021
Maya is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 56 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
When you meet Maya
Most people given the name Maya in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Maya travels
Indian American · illusion, magic (spelled identically to the mainstream American name; the classic Indian American crossover pick)
Chinese American · traditionally linked to Maria; also water in some traditions; famously borne by architect Maya Lin, a modern favorite
Nepali · in Nepali, maya means love and affection, a different word from Sanskrit maya, illusion; the root of hill classics like Phulmaya and Sunmaya, and it reads seamlessly as mainstream American Maya, the rare name that is fully Nepali and fully American at once
Dual-language · also the name of Buddha's mother in Sanskrit/Buddhist tradition, adopted into Japanese with kanji readings like 真夜 or 摩耶; independently one of the fastest-rising modern English names in the US
Keep exploring
Names like Maya · Names that go with Maya · Middle names for Maya · Nepali baby names · Dual-language baby names · Indian American baby names · Chinese American baby names · Short names · Nickname-proof names
The Maya deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Maya truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Maya fits with your family’s names and surname.
Questions about Maya
Does Maya really mean “illusion, water”?
Two different names share the spelling. In Sanskrit, Maya means illusion or magic and is the name of the Buddha's mother. The water sense is not Sanskrit at all: it belongs to a separate Hebrew name from mayim, water, and Maya is also a variant of the Roman Maia and a nod to the Maya people. Which meaning applies depends on which Maya a family chose.
What middle names go with Maya?
Sri (a single beat to anchor Maya's 2), Nalini (3 beats to Maya's 2, so the pair keeps its rhythm), and Indira (3 beats to Maya's 2, so the pair keeps its rhythm). The full list, each pairing with its reason, is on the middle names page for Maya.
Is Maya too popular right now?
Maya is popular right now, without being everywhere and holding steady. In US Social Security records since 1890, its score for the 2020s is 5 out of 10, down from 6 in the 2000s. It peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure. The published lists, which carry a name only once at least five girls a year receive it, first show it in the 1940s; its biggest decade before the 2000s was the 1990s, with 13,973 girls.
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