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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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Sari · 29/04/2009 18:43

We've got a Maia and she does get called Mia quite often. I've met several little girls called Maia/Maya and almost all of them have a parent or parents from a different country (our Maia included). It's the perfect name in that situation because it works in so many different languages and cultures. Where we are everyone is surprised that dd2 is not Indian when they hear her name. Other Maias I know have Czech, Geman, Italian, Polish, Swedish, Indian parents.

foxytocin · 29/04/2009 18:56

Maya is also used in Russia

minxofmancunia · 29/04/2009 19:02

Maia, my dds name it's lovely, she does get called Mia tho and May-ah. Only by other adults in fact, the other children in her group at nursery pronounce it beautifully!

It's a gorgeous name, and so's she!

loobylu3 · 29/04/2009 19:16

Yes, our Maia sometimes gets mistaken for Mia too as this is more popular but not really a major problem.
We loved Maia because it is so multi-cultural too as that really suits our family. Couldn't find such a pretty, multicultural name for DD2 so she got a v English one in the end!

CoteDAzur · 29/04/2009 19:22

Maia, definitely.

Maia is a goddess in Greek mythology, known for her beauty.

Maya is the pre-Columbian civilization with stepped pyramids on which virgins were sacrificed by having their hearts cut out.

I'm guessing you would prefer to name your daughter the former name

foxytocin · 29/04/2009 19:37

The Maya also developed the concept of zero independently of other civilizations and have a calendar which is more accurate than the one currently in use in the West. Among other things including the cultivation of chocolate.

Tales of vigins having their hearts ripped out on altars are vastly over stated.

CoteDAzur · 29/04/2009 19:39

So did Muslim Arabs, yet I doubt if "Arab" will be a popular girls' name anytime soon

I still think Maia (goddess. beauty.) trumps Maya.

chocdrop · 29/04/2009 19:44

Our dd2, age 9, is called Maia and we pronounce is May-a like the month of May. We decided we couldn't spell it Maya because the Mayan Indians are pronounced My-an and there's a computer graphics software package within the film industry called Maya pronounced My-a.

The only way we could be sure people would pronounce it our way would be to spell it Meyer - and my saucepans are made by Meyer so that was out!

It does cause difficulty sometimes and she's not assertive enough to correct people if they get it wrong. Sometimes we call her Mai which I really like.

I'm very interested in everyone's posts.

foxytocin · 29/04/2009 20:15

and you have the right to your opinion, cote.

loobylu3 · 29/04/2009 20:23

cote, the spelling Maya dosen't com from the Mayan civilisation but from the ancient Indian language Sanskrit. In Sanskrit, Maya means an illusion. I don't really think it is the same as naming your child Arab!!

foxytocin · 29/04/2009 20:26

yes and in Hinduism, Maya is a goddess connected with creation and the evolution of things, ideas, etc. The Maya people never called themselves that. It is a name Western archaeologists stuck on them.

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...

OP posts:

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!

OP posts:

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.

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.

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.

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 >

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.

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.

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!

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.

sleepyhead3 · 30/04/2009 10:59

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

RachieB · 30/04/2009 12:46

def prefer Maia

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.

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.

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