About the name Maya
Queen Maya dreamed of a white elephant before giving birth to Siddhartha in the Lumbini grove, which fixes the name in Buddhist history quite apart from its philosophical sense of the world's illusory surface. It is also a Hindu name, a Hebrew one and a Greek one, and that quadruple ancestry is exactly why it has been in the American top 100 for two decades.
Maya is a girl name of Sanskrit origin, pronounced MY-ah. On the NameRarity scale it scores 12 out of 100, which places it in the very popular band — a chart-topping name. Common on class registers and in headlines alike. Its strongest period was the 2010s.
Name facts at a glance
How popular is Maya?
Maya sits at approximately #60 in recent US rankings. Roughly 3,310 people per million carry it — about 1 in 302. In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect around 3.
Famous people named Maya
- Maya AngelouAmerican poet and memoirist
- Maya RudolphAmerican actress and comedian
Spellings and variants of Maya
Names similar to Maya
Jaya
JAH-yah
Victory; also a name of Durga in her triumphant aspect
Daya
DAH-yah
Compassion, mercy toward all living beings
Ila
EE-lah
Puranic figure who changed sex, also earth and sacred speech in the Vedas
Lasya
LAAS-yaa
The graceful feminine dance of Parvati
Madri
MAH-dree
Princess of Madra, second wife of Pandu and mother of the twins
Myra
MY-rah
Admirable, sweet; also read as a variant of Mira, ocean
Shanaya
shuh-NY-aa
Eminent, the first ray of the sun
Shreya
SHRAY-ah
Auspicious, most excellent, better than the rest
Maya — frequently asked questions
What does the name Maya mean?
Maya means "Illusion, also Queen Maya, mother of the Buddha". It is a name of Sanskrit origin, most often given to a girl.
How do you pronounce Maya?
Maya is pronounced MY-ah, with 1 syllable.
How rare is the name Maya?
Maya scores 12 out of 100 on the NameRarity scale, which makes it very popular. Roughly 1 in every 302 people carry it — about 3,310 per million.
What is the numerology number for Maya?
Maya carries the expression number 4, known as The Builder. Its soul urge number is 2 and its personality number is 11.
What is the lucky number and lucky colour for Maya?
The lucky number for Maya is 4 (with 13, 22, 31 also favourable), and its lucky colour is Deep Emerald. The traditional lucky day is Saturday and the associated gemstone is Emerald.
Is Maya a popular name?
Maya currently sits around rank #60 in the United States, and its strongest period was the 2010s.