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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

Maya or Maia?

61 replies

lucasnorth · 28/04/2009 22:01

What do people think?

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natto · 15/01/2011 11:13

Love this name.
I think both spellings can and will be pronounced either way by people. Personally I would assume both were pronounced My-a. But I do know of a May-a.
Just go with your preferred spelling!

reddoreddo · 15/01/2011 10:27

We would like to call our daughter, due any day now, Maia
or Maya,
pronunced MY-A

what do you reckon, maia or maya and which one of them will people know the right way to say it ?

mathanxiety · 17/08/2009 02:47

Maya (with a Y) is v popular in Anglicised Hispanic circles in the U.S. It's always pronounced My-ah there, emphasis on the first syllable, never May-a, which is too reminiscent of Mayo(nnaise). It's a lovely name.

whatsthetimemrwolf · 16/08/2009 18:17

This reply has been deleted

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Jumente · 16/08/2009 15:50

...and then you have Grace Abounding. Of course.

Jumente · 16/08/2009 15:48

I loved this name until we knew a rather grumpy one whom inevitably became known as the Maya of Despond.

nappyaddict · 14/08/2009 17:24

Sorry I meant the Mayan version

loobylu3 · 14/08/2009 16:31

The Sanskrit version is spelt Maya and is pn My-ah nappy addict.

RoseOfTheOrient · 14/08/2009 02:29

I've got a Maya - its used here in Japan too, using two Chinese characters, one for Ma, and one for Ya.
It truly is an international name!

nappyaddict · 14/08/2009 01:48

I know a:

Mia (Me-ah)
Mya (My-ah)
3 Maia's (2 pronounced May-ah - like the month, 1 pronounced My-ah)
2 Maya's (1 pronounced May-ah - again like the month, 1 pronounced My-ah)

Is the Sanskrit version pronounced differently?

CowsGoMoo · 14/08/2009 01:24

I know this is an old post but I have a beautiful 5 year old Maya, pronouced May..aa
Never had any trouble with it being pronounced.
Our nickname for her is May May!!
Its a beautiful name, hope you went with it xx

foxytocin · 30/04/2009 17:34

yes after posting this morning i had a keen nostalgia for those days. can't believe it that 15 yrs ago that i was doing that. it makes me want to chuck it all in and go home but with my two girls i can't. when they are old enough i am going.

i have some awesome memories and a few photos.

CoteDAzur · 30/04/2009 17:24

foxytocin - I am very . The nerd in me is dying to post some of the myriad evidence, but probably not the place.

RachieB · 30/04/2009 12:46

def prefer Maia

sleepyhead3 · 30/04/2009 10:59

I love both of these spellings- not too helpful sorry!

Amalur · 30/04/2009 09:45

Although not the same, my daughter is called Amaya, pronounced Ah-my-ah. If I had been faithful to the origin in this case(Basque name) if would have been Amaia but it seemed more difficult to say for most people in UK.

I definitely did not want to make things difficult for her, she has enough with her surname! Most people manage to say it right, although a few do call her A-may-ah. I think both Maia and Maya are lovely but Maya is easier to pronounce.

chaya5738 · 30/04/2009 09:29

Maya/Maia means "water" in Hebrew. Beautiful name, I think, especially if you like the beach, lakes, rivers etc like I do!

foxytocin · 30/04/2009 09:07

Cote, I led 2 week long archaeological and natural history tours to quite a few Maya sites in Belize, Mexico and Guatemala. I think I know a few alot of things about Aztecs, Maya, Olmec and Teotihuacano cultures. It has been more than a passing interest in my life which is why I am sure the bit about virgins having their hearts ripped out is a load of bollocks.

CoteDAzur · 30/04/2009 08:13

I know a Maya pronounced as May-a. Only realised what her name really was when I sent out an invitation to DD's birthday for "Mea" and got politely corrected by her mum.

Just sounds like parents didn't know how to pronounce the name, tbh.

CoteDAzur · 30/04/2009 08:10

Actually, I'm not confusing Maya with Astec. There is ample evidence of human sacrifice on Mayan codexes (codices?), remains of stepped pyramids, and those sinkholes (I forget the name) they thought were passages to the other world. Preferred method was cutting out the heart, apparently.

I was fascinated with Mayan culture at about the age of 8-10 and for the longest time thought I might be an archeologist >

YesSirICanBoogie · 29/04/2009 21:06

Just to confuse you even more, DD has a friend called Mya which is Malaysian for emerald and really pretty. I've never heard Maya/Maia being pronounced any way other than Migh-ah.

fizzpops · 29/04/2009 21:04

I would pronounce both as Mya - don't like May-a as much. But either spelling is nice imo.

foxytocin · 29/04/2009 20:46

As I said, the tales of sacrifice in maya culture is way over stated. they did the occasional captured king and warrior from the historical documentation available was the more likely sacrifice.

Cote is confusing the Aztec taste for sacrifice with that of the Maya. Mel Gibson, i suspect, re-writing history in that gawd awful movie like he did with Braveheart.

Even if the Aztecs sacrificed as many in a day as the Spanish historians claimed they did, they would have needed more hours in a day to accomplish what the Spaniards wrote about.

Original poster

lucasnorth · 29/04/2009 20:41

Sorry - called away, then didn't refresh and missed the last three posts.

Interesting. Maybe Maya after all... Gah!

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Original poster

lucasnorth · 29/04/2009 20:36

loobylu3 - no we don't have a Lucas. I just watch too much TV (here. If this baby had been a boy though Lucas would definitely have made the shortlist.

Sari/foxytocin - yes, DH is Russian which is one reason the name appeals - we had tried to draw up a list of all names the same in both languages but until we saw the film we had somehow missed off this one. Hence, also, Nina and Elizabeth being the alternatives, as they work in both languages.

Cote/foxytocin - difficult; goddess of beauty is a little bland but human sacrifice not so great either . Hopefully though whichever we went for people wouldn't be thinking things through in this much detail...

It is difficult - the consensus seems to be that Maia is the preferred spelling, but also that it comes at the expense of a little confusion (either being called Mia, or having the alternative pronunciation of May-a used). I was initially favouring Maya on grounds of clarity, but now leaning back towards Maia...

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