Maya
MY-uh, or MAY-uh. Both stress the first syllable.
Two English forms: MY-uh and MAY-uh
Phonetic notation
/ˈmaɪ.ə/; /ˈmeɪ.ə/
The Sanskrit connection
Sanskrit māyā can be translated as “illusion” or “magic”.2
Maya and Maia
In English, Maya can be a variant of Maia, a name found in both Greek and Roman mythology, where it belongs to two separate figures.1
Maya in Hebrew
Maya is also used as a girl's name in Hebrew. Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics includes Maya in its published name data.4
The Devanagari spelling
The Sanskrit and Hindi form is written माया in Devanagari.
Two English pronunciations
MY-uh, with MY as in “my”, and MAY-uh, with MAY as in the month, are both recorded in English. Both put the emphasis on the first part.
Mya is another English spelling
Mya is a recorded English variant of Maya.
- MyaMya is a variant of Maya.
Sources
- Maia — Online Etymology Dictionary, etymonline.com (opens in a new tab)
- Māyā — Encyclopedia of Religion, Teun Goudriaan (1987), via Encyclopedia.com, encyclopedia.com (opens in a new tab)
- מַיִם — Pealim Hebrew Dictionary, pealim.com (opens in a new tab)
- Selected Data for Universal Children's Day, 2014 — Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, cbs.gov.il (opens in a new tab)
Researched from sources and checked in a separate review. We list reference works, not other baby-name websites. Last revised 4 October 2026.
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