A powerful deity in her own right, Shri Lakshmi herself

Maya is a female name in various languages with various meanings. In Sanskrit, for instance, Māyā means "illusion or magic", and is also an alternate name of the Hindu goddess

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

.lakṣmī
, Monier-Williams' ''Sanskrit–English Dictionary'', University of Washington Archives In the

Tupi language Old Tupi, Ancient Tupi or Classical Tupi (also spelled as Tupí) is an extinct Tupian language which was spoken by the aboriginal Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who inhabited coastal regions in South and Southeast Brazil. It belongs to ...

, of southern Brazil, it means "mother", while ''Mayara'' means "grandmother". In the Māori language, the name means "courage" or "bravery", and is popular for Māori girls in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The name may be a variant form of the Greek

theonym A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), " god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity. Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and ...

Maia (Μαῖα in

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

), the eldest of the

Pleiades The Pleiades (), also known as The Seven Sisters, Messier 45 and other names by different cultures, is an asterism and an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. At a distance ...

and the mother of

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἑρμῆς, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travelle ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...

. Variously spelled ''Maia'' or ''Maja'' it can also be used as a short form of

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

in Germany, the Scandinavian countries, and various East European and Balkan countries. ''Maya'' is also used as a short form for the name Amalia or the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

name Amaia or Amaya (meaning "the end") in Spanish-speaking countries.

Popularity

All variants of the name are well-used in the

English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...

and other countries. Maya has ranked among the one thousand most popular names for girls in the United States since 1970 and among the top one hundred most popular names for American girls since 2002. Spelling variant Maia has ranked among the top one thousand names for American girls since 1996.

Notable people named Maya

* Maya (High Priest of Amun), a High Priest of Amun until at least year four of Akhenaten * Maya (Treasurer) (13th century BC), the treasurer to Pharaohs Tutankhamun, Ay, and Horemheb of Egypt * Maya Ackerman, Russian-American computer scientist * Maya Angelou (1928–2014), African-American author and poet * Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam (born 1975), better known as M.I.A., British singer/rapper *

Maya Bar-Hillel Maya Bar-Hillel ( he, מיה בר-הלל, born 1943) is a professor emeritus of psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Known for her work on inaccuracies in human reasoning about probability, she has also studied decision theory in conn ...

(born 1943), Israeli psychologist * Maya Kalle-Bentzur (born 1958), Israeli Olympic runner and long jumper * Maya Berović (born 1987), Bosnian pop star *

Maya Bouskilla Maya Bouskilla (or Buskila; he, מאיה בוסקילה; born November 9, 1977) is an Israeli singer. Early life Buskila was born Netanya, Israel, to a religious family of Moroccan-Jewish descent. She was discovered by a scout for Helicon Reco ...

(born 1977), Israeli singer * Maya Days, American singer * Maya Deren (1917–1961), American avant-garde filmmaker * Maya Diab (born 1980), Lebanese singer *

Maya Dolas Maya Dolas (born Mahindra Dolas; 15 October 1966 — 16 November 1991) was an Indian underworld gangster who used to work for the D-Company don, Dawood Ibrahim. He was killed in an encounter at the 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout by the the ...

(1966-1991), Indian gangster * Maya Erskine (born 1987), American actress * Maya Gabeira (born 1987), Brazilian surfer * Maya Hawke (born 1998), American actress *

Maya Higa Maya Elaine Higa (born May 24, 1998) is an American conservationist, falconer, wildlife rehabilitator, host of The Streamer Awards, co-host of the ''Wine About It'' podcast, and Twitch streamer. She is the founder of Alveus Sanctuary, a non-profit ...

(born 1998), a conservationist and Twitch streamer who streams under the name *

Maya Kazan Maya Kazan (; born November 24, 1986) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Eleanor Gallinger on the television series'' The Knick'' (2014–2015). Personal life Kazan is the daughter of screenwriters Nicholas Kazan and Rob ...

(born 1986), American actress and director * Maya Kulenovic (born 1975), Canadian artist *

Maya Lin Maya Ying Lin (born October 5, 1959) is an American designer and sculptor. In 1981, while an undergraduate at Yale University, she achieved national recognition when she won a national design competition for the planned Vietnam Veterans Memoria ...

(born 1959), American architect and sculptor, designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial * Maya Millete (born 1981), American woman who went missing in 2021 * Maya Mishalska (born 1974), Mexican actress *

Maya Moore Maya April Moore (born June 11, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx, who is currently on sabbatical. Naming her their inaugural Performer of the Year in 2017, ''Sports Illustrated'' called Moore the greatest ...

(born 1989), American basketball player * Maya Nasri (born 1976), Lebanese singer *

Maya Okamoto is a Japanese actress, voice actor, and singer from Tokyo, Japan. Biography Filmography Television animation *''Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam'' (1985), Emma Sheen * ''Touch'' (1985), Natsuko *''Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ'' (1986), Leina Ashta *'' The ...

(born 1967), Japanese voice actress * Maya Plisetskaya (1925–2015), Soviet born ballet dancer * Maya Ritter (born 1993), Canadian actress * Maya Rudolph (born 1972), American actress and ''Saturday Night Live'' cast member * Maya Sondhi (born 1983), British Indian actress * Maya Simantov (born 1982), Israeli singer *

Maya Soetoro-Ng Maya Kasandra Soetoro-Ng (; ; born August 15, 1970) is an Indonesian-American academic, who is a faculty specialist at the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, based in the College of Social Sciences at the University ...

(born 1970), Indonesian-American half-sister of U.S. President Barack Obama * Maya Stojan (born 1984), Swiss actress * Maya Tahan (born 1999), Israeli tennis player * Maya Tskitishvili (born 1974), Georgian economist and politician * Maya Vik (born 1980), Norwegian singer *

Maya Wiley Maya D. Wiley (born January 2, 1964) is an American lawyer, professor, and civil rights activist. She has served as president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights since May 2022. Wiley served as counsel to New York City ...

(born 1964), American civil rights activist and lawyer, 2021 mayoral candidate for New York City * Maya Yoshida (born 1988), Japanese professional footballer * Maya (singer) (born 1979), South Korean K-Pop singer * Maya (musician) (born 1979), vocalist of Japanese visual kei band LM.C

Notable animals named Maya

Maya (wolf) Maya (Standard Chinese, Chinese: ) is a cloned female arctic wolf that was born from a beagle Surrogacy, surrogate mother in China. She was born on June 10, 2022, and news of her birth was revealed to the public on September 19 of the same year at ...

, a cloned arctic wolf

Fictional characters named Maya

* Maya (comics), an Indian DC Comics super-heroine *

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

, Kai and Nya's Mother in Lego

Ninjago Lego Ninjago is a Lego theme that was created in 2011 and a flagship brand of The Lego Group. It is the first theme to be based on ninja since the discontinuation of the Lego Ninja theme in 2000. Whilst it retains some elements of the previous ...

. * Maya, the alter ego of the Marvel Comics superhero

Paragon Paragon may refer to: Places *Paragon, Indiana, a town in the United States * Paragon, Nebraska, former community in the United States *The Paragon, Bath, a Georgian street in the Walcot area of Bath * The Paragon, Blackheath, London, built by Mi ...

* Maya, the original name given to

Aelita ''Aelita'' (russian: Аэли́та, ), also known as ''Aelita: Queen of Mars'', is a 1924 Soviet silent science fiction film directed by Yakov Protazanov and produced at the Mezhrabpom-Rus film studio. It was based on Alexei Tolstoy's 1923 ...

in the French animated TV series ''Code Lyoko'' * Maya (Azumanga Daioh), a minor character in the shōnen manga ''Azumanga Daioh'' * Maya (''Is the Order a Rabbit?''), a character in the manga series ''Is the Order a Rabbit?'' * Maya, one of the main characters in the '' Redakai: Conquer the Kairu'' franchise * Maya, one of the main characters in Hiroki Endo's manga series '' Eden: It's an Endless World!'' * Maya, fictional CIA intelligence analyst who tracked down Osama bin Laden from the film ''

Zero Dark Thirty ''Zero Dark Thirty'' is a 2012 American thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal. The film dramatizes the nearly decade-long international manhunt for Osama bin Laden, leader of terrorist network Al-Qaeda, after the ...

'' * Maya Aida, protagonist of '' Glitter Force Doki Doki'' (originally named Mana Aida) * ''

Maya the Bee ''Maya the Bee'' () is the main character in ''The Adventures of Maya the Bee'', a German book written by Waldemar Bonsels and published in 1912. The book has been published in many other languages and adapted into different media. The first Ame ...

'', the main character of the 1912 German children's book ''The Adventures of Maya the Bee'' and its various adaptions * Fuuga no Maya, is a male who is half human and half angel in the animated series

Saint Beast is a Japanese anime series which centers on gods, guardian angels, animal spirits, and magic. It is a spin-off of the series ''Angel Tales is a Japanese anime television series animated by Tōkyō Kids. The series was broadcast by ...

* Maya Kennedy, minor character in ''

Futari wa Pretty Cure , known as simply ''Pretty Cure'' outside Japan, is a Japanese magical girl anime series produced by Toei Animation and broadcast across Japan on ANN for 97 episodes. It is the first series in the ''Pretty Cure'' metaseries created by Izu ...

'' (originally named Mayu Kashiwada) * Maya Lopez, the Marvel Comics character known as

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

* Maya Ibuki, a minor character in the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise * Maya Santos, a character from the children's animated series ''

Maya & Miguel ''Maya & Miguel'' is an American animated children's television series produced by Scholastic Productions with animation by Starburst Animation Studios and by Yeson Entertainment. It aired on PBS Kids Go! from October 11, 2004 to October 10, 2007 ...

'' * Maya St. Germain, a secondary character in the ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...

'' series of young-adult novels * Maya Tendo, one of the main characters from the '' Shojo Kageki Revue Starlight'' franchise * Maya Yamato, drummer of the band Pastel＊Palettes from the ''

BanG Dream! ''BanG Dream!'', also known as , is a Japanese music media franchise owned by Bushiroad. Created by Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani in January 2015 with original story by Kō Nakamura, the project began as a manga before e ...

'' franchise

Live action TV

* Maya Mehrotra/Maya Arjun Sharma, the lead character from the Sony Entertainment Television India drama series, '' Beyhadh'' * Maya (''Power Rangers''), the Yellow Ranger in ''Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy'' *

, an alien character on the television series ''Space: 1999'' * Maya Bennett, a recurring character in the Disney Channel series ''

The Suite Life on Deck ''The Suite Life on Deck'' is an American teen sitcom that aired on Disney Channel from September 26, 2008 to May 6, 2011. It is a sequel/spin-off of the Disney Channel Original Series ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''. The series follows twin b ...

'' *

Maya Chinn The following are minor fictional characters on the NBC/DirecTV soap opera ''Passions'' whose connections to the four major families are either weak or non-existent. Norma Bates ''For the character from the Psycho franchise, see Norma Bates (Psyc ...

, a character from the American daytime soap opera ''Passions'' * Maya Fisher, a character from the HBO TV show '' Six Feet Under'' * Maya Gallo, a character in the NBC sitcom '' Just Shoot Me'' *

Maya Herrera This is a list of fictional characters in the television series '' Heroes'', the ''Heroes'' graphic novels, and the ''Heroes'' webisodes. Main characters Character duration In its inaugural season, ''Heroes'' featured an ensemble cast ...

, a character in the NBC drama series, ''Heroes'' * Maya Wilkes, a character from the American sitcom '' Girlfriends'' * Maya the Magnificent, the title elephant of the 1966 film and 1967 TV series ''

'' * Maya, a minor character in ''Battlestar Galactica'' * Maya Avant, a character from ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' *

Maya Matlin '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and then ended on MTV Canada and ...

, a character in the teen drama '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' * Maya Hart, a character in the Disney Channel show '' Girl Meets World'' * Maya dela Rosa-Lim, a character in the drama series

Be Careful with My Heart ''Be Careful with My Heart'' is a 2012 Philippine television drama series starring Jodi Sta. Maria and Richard Yap. The series aired on ABS-CBN's ''PrimeTanghali'' noontime block and worldwide via The Filipino Channel from July 9, 2012 to Novem ...

Games

, a character from video game ''Killer Instinct 2'' * Maya Amano, a character from the ''Persona'' video games * Maya Do'Urden, a sister of Drizzt Do'Urden in ''Forgotten Realms'' *

Maya Fey Maya Fey, known as in the original Japanese language versions, is a fictional spirit medium in '' Ace Attorney'', a visual novel adventure video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. Maya is featured as the main support character to ...

, a secondary character in the ''Ace Attorney'' franchise. * Maya, one of the six playable characters in the video game '' Borderlands 2'' * Maya Ocean, one of the four pre-made mermaids in '' The Sims 3: Island Paradise'' * Maya Torres, one of the playable characters in ''

State Of Decay ''State of Decay'' is a series of third-person survival horror video games. The series was created by Undead Labs and published by Xbox Game Studios. To date, there are two installments in the franchise, and an upcoming third game. Common game ...

'' * Maya, one of the minor antagonists in ''

Minecraft Story Mode ''Minecraft: Story Mode'' is an episodic point-and-click video game developed and published by Telltale Games, based on Mojang Studios' sandbox video game ''Minecraft''. The first five episodes were released between October 2015 through Ma ...

Notes

{{given name Feminine given names Arabic feminine given names English feminine given names Indian feminine given names Pakistani feminine given names Spanish feminine given names