Which name - Anya or Maia?

[onewoollymammoth]

Please help - we have our baby due in two weeks and still can't decide which name to choose!

I liked Anya (Pronounced Ann-ya) as it seems underused and is sweet and short yet still a bit exotic, but Maia (pronounced My-a) has always been on my list because it has some beautiful meanings and is soft and sweet but seems to have got very popular lately, and I'm worried about it being misspelt and mispronounced a lot which I don't want my daughter to constantly have problems with.

Overall I wanted a short, sweet, pretty name, not too common, easy to say and spell and with a beautiful meaning.

Which do you think is the nicest name overall and why?

[LunaLemon]

If you spell it Maia it will definitely be misspelt tbh. I’d spell it Maya if you go for that.

Prefer Anya though

[Topsy1976]

Anya is lovely - more unusual and easier to pronounce IMO! Congrats on your baby.

[KylieCharlene]

Anya is beautiful.
Maia has issues with pronunciation and spelling.

(I also love Ananya)

[Titsflyingsouth]

Anya is lovely

[Whatever00]

I like Anya. It's easy to say and spell. I also like Amaya.

[onewoollymammoth]

Thanks for the suggestions. Anya seems to be the preferred option so far

[Moby715]

Anya for me. It’s beautiful.

I like Maia also but have only know people with this spelling pronounce it may-a.

for your preferred pronunciation I’d go for Mya as the spelling.

[Fivebeanchilli]

I love Maia and would pronounce it the same as you - but I do think a lot of people wouldn't.
Anya is beautiful and there are fewer issues with it (though I think quite a few would say Ahn - ya).
I would pick Anya.

[CharlotteOH]

Both lovely, my preference is for Anya.

Just going to throw these out there too
Ayla
Alys

[PancakesWithCheese]

Anya, I love this name. I don’t like Maia at all, but also it’s really popular (in whichever spelling), I feel like I hear it a lot so Anya would be a nice change.

[DramaAlpaca]

I much prefer Anya.

[RuthW]

Anya. Only one way to day it unlike the other name.

[Enko]

Well, I will be unusual and say I much prefer Maia I like that spelling too.

I've known quite a few Anya / Anja's and frankly none of them gives me good memories.

[SunshineAndFizz]

Anya.

Nicer name and less likely to get wrong pronunciation (I'd pronounce that May-a).

[bloominglovelyorange]

Another vote for Anya
one of my favourites

[Amdone123]

Anya.
I like your spelling of Maia. It's so popular though ( at least Mya is ).

[Cloud16]

I like Maia. I'd pronounce it the same as you. It's like the name Kai, its the same 'ai' that sounds like 'i' rather than 'ay'. So I'd say its easy to know how to pronounce imo. You could go Mya to be safe though, but not as pretty written down.

I always struggle with Ann YAAA. Doesn't roll off the tongue for me.

[hattie43]

Maia is beautiful

[FlissyPaps]

Love both of these names.

Anya is on my list for girls. With “Maia” you may get people pronouncing it “May-a”.

[Cathpot]

I am a teacher and this year taught 3 girls pronounced ‘mee ya’ ( Maya) ‘my a’ (Maya) - and ‘may a’ ( Mia) . It’s my number one ‘pause and think’ moment taking a register ( along with Cian which for no good reason puts me into a slight brain melt)
I would go with Anya- less common and easy to get right.

[PraiseBee]

Anya - love it

[Squidgoals]

Anya's a really lovely name but Maia's better, but then my DD1 is named Maia so I'm biased. We had very few issues with the spelling and pronunciation - she got a few birthday cards for somebody called 'Mia' and a friend of mine used to call her 'Mayer' for no good reason, but that was it.
She was born in 2001 and is yet to meet another Maia her age, I'm not sure how she'll feel about her name becoming popular!

[MrsB902]

They are both lovely names but I LOVE Anya. This was on my list but we ended up having a boy. Congratulations on your baby ❤️

[WomanHere]

I think the name Zara would also fit your requirements.

[yikesanotherbooboo]

I like both but prefer Anya. I agree with your pronunciation and spelling of Maia .