Spelling help needed!

[AlpacaMeBags]

DD is nearly 3 weeks old. We've decided on a name for her but can't make a decision about spelling.

She's called Maia/Maya - pronounced My-a.

Originally we'd gone with Maia (my preference -i prefer the history of it and I think Maya could end up May-a) but people seem confused by the spelling.

Which would you go for?

Maya is usually pronounced MYE-uh. People soon learn it.
Other English names with the same rule - McKay = McKEYE,
Aye aye and ay, as meaning yes, in Shakespeare is pronounced EYE.

Maia is from the goddess associated with the month of May.
Mia is very popular and is said as Mee-uh. Maia reminds me of Mia with an a - so May-ee-uh

Mya is like something a cat sounds -meow sort of, but squished together. M-ya.

McKay = McKEYE,

What? I've only ever heard it pronounced Mc Kay

McKay doesn't really follow English spelling rules. Yes it's pronounced Mc Keye but I'd think it might have Gaelic origins.
Because the girls name Kay isn't pronounced Keye.

Agree with this

It's the Mayan (My-an) civilization, not the May-an civilization.

I'd personally pronounce Maya as My-a and Maia as May-a as that's how the children I know do. Maybe Mya if you want less confusion? Even thoogh I know a May-a, My-a and Me-a well I still have to take a second to remember how they each pronounce their names!

The Greek/Roman goddess is pronounced My-a.

Or, both Maya and Maia are pronounced in exactly the same way. Just depends which spelling you prefer.

Maia is a bit yoonique
That's ridiculous 🙄 It's a Greek name and this is the original spelling.

Maia is lovely OP, stick with it.

To confuse things further, it's spelled Maja in Germany.

In England I'd spell it Mya or Maya, but the latter could well be pronounced May-a

Mya

The rest are said Maya

No, they are two different words from different languages that happen to have the same spelling. It doesn’t mean they are pronounced the same. The name Maya has nothing to do with the Mayan people.

It depends on which naming source is used though. I have a niece called Maya, and she is from India. There's a Sanskrit translation for the name. It also has Spanish and Greek origins.

The main thing is that the OP needs to know which pronunication she likes and then use that one, correcting people as needed.

Maya definitely. Every Maya I've known says it as Mya. It's the perfect spelling, I'd say Maia as May-a

I prefer Maya.

Maya seems to be pronounced May-a around here.

May, Maybe, Mayonnaise, Mayflower etc are all pronounced May.

Mya would be Mya

I taught a Maia recently - I assumed it was pronounced My-a, but she corrected me and said it was May-a. She said she gets the wrong pronunciation all the time.

I think the only thing this thread tells us is that it can be spelled and pronounced either way. So, @AlpacaMeBags pick whichever spelling & pronunciation you want.

Maya I personally would go for .

This thread is fascinating. So many different opinions. For me, Maya/Maia = my-uh. Mia = mee-uh. And Mya/Myah = one syllable, with the y not making a syllable - not a nice sound at all. But just go for what you prefer and stick to your guns - it'll be fine.

Maya

Well, I think we're clearing things up nicely for OP 😅😂

I'd pronounce them both May-uh tbh. In the interests of an easy life, I'd go with Mya (even though it doesn't look as pretty).