Meaning of the nameMaya
- Female
- Greek origin
- Ma-ya
Maya is a spelling of the name Maia, which means “good mother, foster mother or nurse”.
Meaning
“good mother, foster mother or nurse”
Meaning of the name Maia, of which Maya is a spelling.
Source: Behind the Name: Maia · Wiktionary: μαῖα
- People (2022)
- 23,446
- Rank in Brazil
- #958
- Median age
- 1 years
- 2010 Census
- 785
- people
Maya in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Maya, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in 2020 to 2022 (16,831 people).
23,218 women 228 men
Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.
Where the name Maya is most common
States with the highest share of people named Maya in the population, in the 2022 Census.
- São Paulo 0.017%
- Rio de Janeiro 0.017%
- Distrito Federal 0.016%
- Espírito Santo 0.016%
- Sergipe 0.014%
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| São Paulo | 7,475 | 0.017% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 2,665 | 0.017% |
| Minas Gerais | 1,783 | 0.009% |
| Bahia | 1,631 | 0.012% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 1,211 | 0.011% |
| Pernambuco | 1,103 | 0.012% |
| Santa Catarina | 865 | 0.011% |
| Paraná | 728 | 0.006% |
| Espírito Santo | 597 | 0.016% |
| Ceará | 593 | 0.007% |
| Goiás | 580 | 0.008% |
| Maranhão | 485 | 0.007% |
| Paraíba | 483 | 0.012% |
| Distrito Federal | 456 | 0.016% |
| Alagoas | 402 | 0.013% |
| Pará | 401 | 0.005% |
| Piauí | 331 | 0.010% |
| Sergipe | 318 | 0.014% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 292 | 0.009% |
| Mato Grosso | 283 | 0.008% |
| Amazonas | 258 | 0.007% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 188 | 0.007% |
| Tocantins | 131 | 0.009% |
| Rondônia | 67 | 0.004% |
| Amapá | 48 | 0.007% |
| Acre | 41 | 0.005% |
| Roraima | 31 | 0.005% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
The spelling Maya
It swaps the I for a Y. Behind the Name gives it as a variant of Maia in English, and it is the most recorded spelling in the group; Maya also designates, in other traditions, the Sanskrit name māyā ('illusion').
About the name Maia
Behind the Name links Maia to a Greek word meaning 'good mother', 'lady' or 'foster mother', perhaps a childish form of 'mother'; it is the name of the eldest of the Pleiades in Greek mythology. Wiktionary records the Greek word μαῖα with the senses of midwife, nurse or foster mother and good mother, of uncertain origin, possibly from the same root as 'mother'. In Portuguese, the same entry gives Maia as a place name and surname, from Old Galician-Portuguese Maia and from Iberian Amaia, and gives the mythological figure as coming from Greek Μαῖα. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 11,744 people named Maia, with a median age of 2; proportionally, it is most common in Bahia. The Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil lists Maya, Maiah and Maiaa as spelling variants.
Other spellings of Maia
| Spelling | People (2022) |
|---|---|
| Maya | 23,446 |
| Maia | 11,744 |
Sources
- Behind the Name: Maia · behindthename.com · meaning
- Wiktionary: Maia · en.wiktionary.org · origin
- Behind the Name: Maya · behindthename.com · origin
- Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Maia · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · spelling
- Wiktionary: μαῖα · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
- Wiktionary: Maya · en.wiktionary.org · origin
Questions about the name Maya
What does the name Maya mean?
Maya means “good mother, foster mother or nurse”, according to Behind the Name and Wiktionary. This is the meaning of the name Maia, of which Maya is a spelling.
How many people are named Maya in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 23,446 people with the first name Maya, which ranks it number 958 among the country's names. The largest group was born in 2020 to 2022.
Is Maya a boy's or a girl's name?
Maya is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 23,218 women and 228 men had this name.
What is the origin of the name Maya?
Maya is a name of Greek origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.
In which Brazilian state is Maya most common?
Proportionally, in São Paulo: 0.017% of the state's population is named Maya (7,475 people), according to the 2022 Census.
What are the other spellings of Maya?
Maia. IBGE counts each spelling separately.
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