Are Mia and Maya the same name?

[EssentialHummus]

Do you see these names as being variations of one name?

We have a Maya in the family and it's not the done thing for us to name after living relatives - just wondering if we can get away with Mia.

[Cosmicglitterpug]

I think they're different, they're pronounced differently aren't they? May-a and My-a (Mia)? Or is it Me-a?
If they are pronounced differently then I'd say fine.

[user1483387154]

I agree with Cosmic, different names pronounced differently. I like both of them.

[WreckTangled]

It depends if Mia is pronounced me-ah or my-ah. The latter sounds quite similar but the former does not.

[HardcoreLadyType]

Mia is pronounced mee-ah.

Maya is pronounced Muh-yuh. (Think short Italian "a").

They are both lovely, and have both been very popular for the last 20 years.

[EssentialHummus]

Interesting, thanks all. wreck I'd naturally pronounce Mia as Me-ah, just going off the ones I've met.

[TheOnlyLivingToyInNewYork]

Maya is pronounced Muh-yuh

it really isn't.

[KoalaDownUnder]

Maya is pronounced my-uh, surely?

Mia is me-uh.

Different names, in my book.

[WreckTangled]

I don't think they're too similar at all then. I would also say me-ah. Ds has a Mia in his class pronounced my-ah though, her mum isn't English though so maybe that's why

[FrenchLavender]

I pronounce Mia like Mee-a and Maya like My-a.

I don't think of them as the same name.

[llangennith]

What about the Welsh name Mair? Pronounced My-er by English people.

[ByTheWishingWell]

Going off the ones I've met, I'd assume Maya is pronounced My-ah and Mia is pronounced Me-ah.

[Whatslovegottodo]

I think it's a confusing one as I know 'Mia' pronounced me-ah and my -ah, and 'Maya' pronounced may-ah and my-ah!
So both have different potential pronounciations and a chance they could be the same way.

[KoalaDownUnder]

Actually, I do know one Maya pronounced May-uh. It always seems kind of wrong to me.

[EdenX]

Generally I think Mia is mee-ah

Maya can be my-ah or may-ah.

[flowery]

I'd pronounce Maya as my-ah, Mia as me-ah

[BackforGood]

I'd have though Mia is usually pronounced Me - ah
That Maya would be pronounced May-ah
and that Mya would be pronounced My-ah

but (in my job I come across lots of people that I have to then write down their names) life has taught me it is never that simple and you get all sorts of varieties of what you might expect to be simple and straight forward.

[EssentialHummus]

llan Mair is beautiful, but we are having a hard enough time of it looking for a name that works in English, Hebrew and Russian, and I thinking sticking Welsh in there is a bridge too far . (Also visually looks very similar to the Hebrew boys' name Meir/Meyer.)

[SuperBeagle]

Maya is MY-uh, as far as I know (and in my experience), whereas Mia is ME-uh.

I much prefer Mia.

[crapfatbanana]

Mia - mee-ya. A bit drippy. Not keen.

Maya - My-ya. Fierce. Cool.

In my very humble opinion.

[ChippieBeanAndHorro]

They aren't the same at all imo.

And as long as they aren't sisters it's perfectly alright.

I have cousins called Milo, Mila, Miro and Mira... Which is a bit too much imo. But not confusing ;) (unless you meet all the other cousins. Grandpa was the 13th child...)

[ChippieBeanAndHorro]

But tbh, I prefer Maya to Mia. Mia just means "mine" (to me personally), which isn't all that nice, tbh... Sorry.

[OneSecondAfter]

To me they are pronounced

Mia = Mee-a
Maya = My-a

So quite different, yes.

[alteredimages]

Definitely different names EssentialHummus. It's really tricky finding names that work in multiple languages.

On the other hand, be aware that there is truly horrendous kids tv programme called Mia and Me. It is a pastiche of every crap children's fantasy story ever.

[fueledbybacon]

Mia means mine in Italian. Pronounced Me-ah its a shorter pronunciation than Mee-ah as said above.

[user1486076969]

Different