Maia or Maya

[reddoreddo]

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 ?

My name is Maia pronounced May-a.

Maya is more usually pronounced to rhyme with 'fire' as in American author Maya Angelou, the Central/South American civilisation, the Indian name, etc . Also a popular American name.

The 'May-a' thing seems to be quite recent and exclusively British. I don't know if it began as a mistake, maybe?

I would pronounce Maya or Maia, as My-er. I don't think you need to bother with Mya. It looks somehow incomplete to me. Mia is a completely different name that I would pronounce as Mee-ah.

Maya, Maia and Maja are all pretty and genuine spellings of the name. All of these are pronounced My-ah and have been around for centuries in other countries. The May-ah pronunciation seems to have been made up recently by people in this country who didn't realise the correct pronunciation and used the name anyway, a bit like pronouncing 'Lucy' as Lucky, for example.

Mya is also a modern invention as far as I know and it looks visually off to me. I am not Welsh but pretty sure that the Welsh name which is similar would be Mair. Any Welsh speakers?

My theory is maybe the wrong/new pronunciation as May-a came about because of the popularity of 'May' in the UK at the moment? (popular specially as a middle name, along with Rose and Grace of course!)

Maybe some people assumed it was just a fancy lengthening of 'May', not realising the name 'Maya' rhyming with 'fire' was already around?

I think you must be right Nadia. Maya looks similar to May so the assumption seems to have been made that it is May-ah.
It seems odd to be that, if you are planning to use a name for your child, you wouldn't find out the correct pronunciation...

Footie- thanks for clarifying re Mya/ Mair.

I would say Maia - My-a and Maya as May-a.

FWIW I know three 5 yr old friends - Mia, Maya (pn May-a) and Maia (My-a) all very confusing when they are together or other people are referring to them in conversation!

It is a lovely name, but my cousin has a Maya and I can never remember if its pronounced my-a or may-a (I think they say may-a!)

I think she will have to correct people a lot if that's a problem.

I have a Maia. We get the odd Mia pronunciation, but very few. When she was born (13 years ago) I thought we were so original, but there are lots of them around, whether it's spelt Maya or Maia.
Love her name.

In my mind:

Mia, Mea, Miya, Miah = 'MEE-A'

Mya, Maia, Maja, Myah = 'MY-A'

Maya = 'MAY-A'

That fits all the children I've ever met with those names. But sure there are cases where it doesn't.

Maia - A girl's name. The mother of Hermes in Greek mythology.

Maya - An ancient Mesoamerican civilisation. Pronounced MY-A, not MAY-A.

It's up to you what you want to name your daughter after. I would go for the goddess, not a civilisation in ruins. Both words are pronounced the same.

Nope. Maya pronounced Mya has been around as a girl's name for many many years. As has Maia. It is a valid spelling, just like Katherine/Catherine, Ann/Anne. Ask Maya Angelou. Ask anyone of Indian (Hindu) background. The ancient civilisation thing is just a coincidence.

School I used to work in had Maia...may-ah and Maya...my-a

Maia is the Greek spelling referring to a Fairy in Greek Mythology. Depends I guess also on the meaning you want the name to have...

Maya will be pronounced may - a so for that reason I'd say Maia.

Maya

Maia is not the Greek spelling, it is the English spelling of that mythological character.

Maya is of course a valid spelling. Of the word referring to the ancient mesoamerican civilization.

Maya is also a Sanskrit (ancient Indian language) word meaning 'an illusion'. It is quite commonly use in British Asians. It also seems to have meanings in many other languages.

The Greek Maia was a Goddess not a fairy.

I prefer Maya for that pronunciation personally. Both beautiful though.

I was obviously talking about the meaning of the word "Maya" in the English language.

Maya. It's a beautiful name, I was thinking of it for a middle name if we have a girl but unfortunately it sounds terrible with our surname. I think Maia is the Greek spelling but Maya is more common and will be easier for people to spell correctly. I really don't like seeing it spelt Mya.

Can't see the harm in pointing out the meaning in other languages, CoteD'Azure, particularly as Maya/ Maia isn't a traditional English name but is used in many cultures. I wasn't attacking or disputing what you said in any case.

Another mum of a Maya, pronounced My-uh. Never had problems with it other than a couple of times when she's been called May-a when we lived in England (but funnily enough nowhere else) but not enough to be an issue.

It's a great name because it works in so many languages and is multicultural.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_(given_name)

I'd never have thought of calling writing her name Maia and certainly not Mya. Both look a bit odd to me.