NameChart

Maya

Girl name

Maya has been given to 123,750 babies in the U.S. since 1940. It peaked in 2006 and currently ranks #62 for girls (2025).

Meaning & origin /ˈmaɪə/

Borrowed from Spanish maya, from Yucatec Maya mayab (“flat”) or Yucatec Maya maaya, a self-designation of the northern Maya for themselves, in the form maya’ found in compounds and phrases e.g. maya’ wíinik (“Maya man”). {| | rowspan="2" class="maintenance-box-image-cell" | 40px|alt=To be cleaned up ! style="text-align: left;" | A user suggests that this English entry be cleaned up, giving the reason: “senses ("member or descendant of") and translation ("civilization") don't match: Finnish mayakulttuuri & German Mayakultur only denote the civilisation but not a person. Also, Etymol

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025

01.262k2.524k3.785k5.047k 18801900192019401960198020002020 Girls Boys
Hover or tap the chart to read any year.

Total babies

123,750

Peak year

2006 (5,053 babies)

Rank in 2025

#62 for girls

First recorded

1940

10-year trend

▼ -10%

Gender split

100% girls / 0% boys

Famous people named Maya

Maya Angelou

American poet, author, and civil rights activist (1928–2014)

Maya Plisetskaya

Russian ballet dancer (1925-2015)

Maya Yoshida

Japanese association football player

Maya Hawke

American actress

Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).

Names with a similar vibe

Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Maya.

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