Maya
Girl · MY-a · Sanskrit
Maya is a girls' name of Sanskrit origin, meaning “illusion (in Sanskrit)”. In 2025 it ranked 28th for girls in the UK (1,420 babies) and 62nd for girls in the US (3,712 babies).
What does Maya mean?
Sanskrit: also a form of Greek Maia
“illusion (in Sanskrit)”
In Sanskrit maya means illusion, and Queen Maya was the mother of the Buddha; it is also a form of Maia.
- Say it
- MY-a
More on Wiktionary.
Is Maya a girl's or a boy's name?
Maya is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 1,420 girls in the UK and 3,712 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Maya in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #28among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 1,420about 1 in 200 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 6% in five years
- Same name in a class
- 6.9%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 1,420 girls in the UK were named Maya, making it the 28th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 32nd. Its busiest year was 2024, with 1,788 girls.
Half of all the girls named Maya in the UK since 1996 were born between 2009 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 2,115 girls in the UK were given Maya or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #7, up from #28 for this spelling alone.
Among girls in 2025, it was 28th in England and Wales, 20th in Scotland and 84th in Northern Ireland.
In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 2004 (#85), 2014 (#45) and 2024 (#15).
Maya in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,420 | #28 |
| 2024 | 1,788 | #16 |
| 2023 | 1,393 | #30 |
| 2022 | 1,552 | #28 |
| 2021 | 1,594 | #29 |
| 2020 | 1,468 | #32 |
| 2019 | 1,480 | #34 |
| 2018 | 1,390 | #38 |
| 2017 | 1,381 | #42 |
| 2016 | 1,493 | #41 |
| 2015 | 1,470 | #39 |
| 2014 | 1,304 | #49 |
| 2013 | 1,244 | #51 |
| 2012 | 1,164 | #61 |
| 2011 | 1,184 | #58 |
| 2010 | 1,164 | #57 |
| 2009 | 1,041 | #71 |
| 2008 | 1,056 | #71 |
| 2007 | 830 | #82 |
| 2006 | 801 | #82 |
| 2005 | 574 | #100 |
| 2004 | 657 | #89 |
| 2003 | 475 | #121 |
| 2002 | 472 | #112 |
| 2001 | 478 | #117 |
| 2000 | 474 | #120 |
| 1999 | 405 | #136 |
| 1998 | 263 | #183 |
| 1997 | 183 | #246 |
| 1996 | 153 | #270 |
How popular is Maya in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #62among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 3,712about 1 in 430 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 5% in five years
- Same name in a class
- 3.2%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 3,712 girls in the US were named Maya, making it the 62nd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 61st. Its busiest year was 2006, with 5,047 girls. It first appears in the records in 1940.
2025 had fewer girls named Maya than any year since 2002.
Half of all the girls named Maya in the US since 1880 were born between 2003 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 5,471 girls in the US were given Maya or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #43, up from #62 for this spelling alone.
Maya in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,712 | #62 |
| 2024 | 4,230 | #51 |
| 2023 | 4,092 | #49 |
| 2022 | 4,247 | #51 |
| 2021 | 4,082 | #55 |
| 2020 | 3,746 | #61 |
| 2019 | 3,823 | #64 |
| 2018 | 3,918 | #62 |
| 2017 | 4,046 | #60 |
| 2016 | 4,090 | #64 |
| 2015 | 4,133 | #68 |
| 2014 | 3,957 | #74 |
| 2013 | 3,826 | #72 |
| 2012 | 3,981 | #63 |
| 2011 | 4,024 | #64 |
| 2010 | 3,971 | #66 |
| 2009 | 4,393 | #61 |
| 2008 | 4,270 | #71 |
| 2007 | 4,701 | #62 |
| 2006 | 5,047 | #57 |
| 2005 | 4,431 | #73 |
| 2004 | 3,767 | #83 |
| 2003 | 3,849 | #84 |
| 2002 | 3,545 | #90 |
| 2001 | 3,010 | #110 |
| 2000 | 3,019 | #113 |
| 1999 | 2,854 | #113 |
| 1998 | 2,687 | #123 |
| 1997 | 1,676 | #181 |
| 1996 | 1,445 | #201 |
| 1995 | 1,241 | #227 |
| 1994 | 1,130 | #247 |
| 1993 | 1,016 | #271 |
| 1992 | 696 | #368 |
| 1991 | 576 | #442 |
| 1990 | 652 | #399 |
| 1989 | 344 | #616 |
| 1988 | 288 | #669 |
| 1987 | 288 | #653 |
| 1986 | 233 | #747 |
| 1985 | 251 | #696 |
| 1984 | 240 | #695 |
| 1983 | 290 | #607 |
| 1982 | 347 | #546 |
| 1981 | 323 | #570 |
| 1980 | 398 | #506 |
| 1979 | 385 | #513 |
| 1978 | 296 | #579 |
| 1977 | 343 | #531 |
| 1976 | 212 | #696 |
| 1975 | 187 | #759 |
| 1974 | 169 | #798 |
| 1973 | 123 | #963 |
| 1972 | 147 | #870 |
| 1971 | 135 | #948 |
| 1970 | 142 | #914 |
| 1969 | 96 | #1,129 |
| 1968 | 67 | #1,365 |
| 1967 | 44 | #1,732 |
| 1966 | 50 | #1,586 |
| 1965 | 29 | #2,204 |
| 1964 | 36 | #1,974 |
| 1963 | 23 | #2,542 |
| 1962 | 35 | #1,946 |
| 1961 | 19 | #2,838 |
| 1960 | 28 | #2,195 |
| 1959 | 20 | #2,595 |
| 1958 | 13 | #3,378 |
| 1957 | 12 | #3,488 |
| 1956 | 11 | #3,695 |
| 1955 | 9 | #4,068 |
| 1954 | 9 | #3,965 |
| 1953 | 15 | #2,811 |
| 1952 | 7 | #4,482 |
| 1951 | 8 | #4,010 |
| 1950 | 7 | #4,313 |
| 1949 | 10 | #3,392 |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 0 | – |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 5 | #4,690 |
| 1942 | 5 | #4,620 |
| 1941 | 0 | – |
| 1940 | 5 | #4,347 |
Names like Maya
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Raya Ayla Summer Maryam Safa Layla Zainab Mia Aisha Amira Aaliyah Amaya
Other spellings of Maya
Maia Mya Maja Myah Maiya Mayah Myia Maaya Maiah Maiyah Myiah
Names related to Maya
More Sanskrit names
Bodhi Arya Lila Arjun Aarav Rohan Kali Aryan Opal Arjan Vihaan Aadhya Avyaan Ishaan Siya Leena