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Baby names

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Original poster

Maya or Maia?

61 replies

lucasnorth · 28/04/2009 22:01

What do people think?

OP posts:
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TaurielTest · 28/04/2009 22:05

Pretty name. I prefer it with the i spelling personally, and would pronounce it MY-a not MAY-a...
but will the baby be born in May?! I liked Juno for a girl, but decided that it would be too cheesy for a June baby.

BirdyArms · 28/04/2009 22:08

I like the name. I would spell it whichever is the more usual way, very annoying to have to go through life correcting the spelling of your name. IME Maya is more usual but I probably don't know enough of them to be sure.

gibbberish · 28/04/2009 22:09

Maia. Love it.

MakemineaGandT · 28/04/2009 22:10

Maia

Heated · 28/04/2009 22:11

Maya I would pn May-A, I think of ancient Mayan culture & the wonderful Maya Angelou.

Maia could be pn May-a or My-a and consider it the more anglicised version of Maia, but don't know why that is, maybe simply because 'ia' names are more commonly found in the UK. Maia is also the heroine of one of my favourite children's books, Eva Ibbotson's 'Journey to the River Sea'.

rasputin · 28/04/2009 22:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ChocFridgeCake · 28/04/2009 22:19

Both lovely spellings BUT a lot of people will pronounce Maia, as MY-AH.

With Maya, there isn't the query - it's clearly MAY-AH.

If I saw Maia I personally would presume it was My-ah. A Maia will spend a lot of time clarifying whether it be said My-ah or May-ah.

foxytocin · 28/04/2009 22:26

Maya is MA-YA. surely.

foxytocin · 28/04/2009 22:27

it is the MA-YA culture, Heated.

fluffles · 28/04/2009 22:27

I know a maia who is maori and pronounces it my-a. it's a lovely name.

tkband3 · 28/04/2009 22:31

I have a Maia and we pronounce it my-a. Her best friend in nursery is called Mya. We've never yet had to correct anyone's pronunciation (sp?) but we do have to spell it as I think the more usual spelling is Maya.

lou33 · 28/04/2009 22:32

maia

Plonker · 29/04/2009 00:46

Maia. Lovely.

loobylu3 · 29/04/2009 08:56

I think both spellings are lovely. We have a Maia of nearly 7 years old. We picked the name as my DH is of Indian origin and were looking for an Indian name that was short and sweet and easy to pronounce. The spelling Maya is the traditional Indian one (from the Sanskrit) and is definitely pn My-ah. Maia was the spelling used in ancient Greece/ Rome where Maia was the name of a goddess in both cultures. As far as I know, the pn would still have been My-ah.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maia_(mythology)

pottycock · 29/04/2009 09:11

MaYa, definitely.

moyasmum · 29/04/2009 09:20

maia is a greek goddess, and was also the roman name for a place we used to live near. Did consider it seriously,before plumping for you know what.

Heated · 29/04/2009 12:49

Digressing a bit, yes foxytocin I was being a bit lazy, Mayan as an adj is used more in relation to the language rather than the culture -but- the point I was trying, and not quite making, was not about pn but about associations re the name. However, I still would pn the name Maya as May-a rather than Ma-ya.

foxytocin · 29/04/2009 12:58

[cough] I am half Ma-ya.

Only white folks say 'the May-a' hence pronouncing the girl's name like that.

MrsMattie · 29/04/2009 12:59

Both lovely, but I personally prefer Maia.

1Maya2 · 29/04/2009 13:26

Really lovely name

Grumpyoldcaaaaaaaa · 29/04/2009 13:44

DD1 is Maia (pronounced Mya). She gets called 'Mia' and 'Maya' and has had some strange spellings (my favourite being the very literal 'Myer'). It's a lovely name and she adores having a slightly unusual name.

Heated · 29/04/2009 17:13

Foxytocin, where from? My cousin spends a lot of time in Yaxha National Park and met her dh there, he works in finance connected to restoration. I'm in a very long queue of rellies and friends who want to visit!

foxytocin · 29/04/2009 17:17

I am from Belize. ~Yaxha NP is in the Peten in Guatemala, no? I've been to Tikal NP many many times for work.

Original poster
lucasnorth · 29/04/2009 17:57

Thanks all. Sorry not to have posted earlier but until now all I got was a Siblu advert when opened any thread!

Glad there's such a positive reaction to the name; DH and I had thought we were down to a fight over two names (Nina or Elizabeth) until we saw Definitely Maybe on DVD; didn't like the film but the little girl is called Maya and we both liked the name

If we go for it we'd definitely pronounce it Ma-ya (July baby, not a May one puddock )

The reason for the query on spelling is that I'm usually very pro the 'right' spelling of names, just in this instance both spellings seem fairly equally common. I suspect that 'Maya' would be easier for strangers to pronounce/spell correctly, but also that 'Maia' is the 'classic' spelling (like Grumpyoldcaaaaaa's DD though I suspect we'd get a lot of 'Mia'). We have no Mayan connection, so no argument either way there!

Anyway, thanks again. I have lurked on Baby Names threads before and there seems to be an unusual degree of consensus that this is a nice name

OP posts:
loobylu3 · 29/04/2009 18:35

Glad you like the name (DD1 is Maia). BTW, you dont have a Lucas do you? Just wondered as our DS is Lucas!