girl's name
Maia
MY-a
- Origin Greek
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 37,362
the United States
#433
2025 births
Maia is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "mother" or "nurse." She was the eldest Pleiad and mother of Hermes, and the month of May is named for her.
- Maia is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 2022, when 752 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,637 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1950.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Maia over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1950s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 58 |
| 1960s | 217 |
| 1970s | 668 |
| 1980s | 728 |
| 1990s | 2,188 |
| 2000s | 5,057 |
| 2010s | 5,123 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,161 |
What Maia means
Maia means mother, or great one. The Greek maia was a respectful word for an older woman or a midwife, so the name carries authority and care together rather than either alone.
Where Maia comes from
Maia is the Greek Maia, a term of respect for an older woman, related to a root meaning great. In myth she is the eldest of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes by Zeus. The Romans identified her with an old Italic goddess of growth, and the month of May is named for her — so June and May, both in our records, honor goddesses. Maia is separately a Basque name and a Māori word, and it overlaps in English with the Hebrew Maya, meaning water, and the Sanskrit maya, illusion.
Maia in use
Our data shows Maia peaking in 2022 and still rising, at 198 in England and Wales against 433 in the United States. It first appears in our records in 1950. Maya, its commoner spelling, is separately in our data — one sound reaching English through Greek, Hebrew and Sanskrit independently.
How popular is Maia?
In 2025, Maia was given to 715 babies in the United States, ranking #433 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Maia is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Maia is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Maïa | Maïa is Maia written with a diaeresis in France, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #163 in France, against #1,051 for Maia. | 4,066 |
Names that peaked alongside Maia
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Maia also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Maia over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Maia
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Maia in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Maia
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Maia — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Maia
What does the name Maia mean?
Maia means "mother" or "great one," from the Greek maia, a respectful term for an older woman.
Is the month of May named after Maia?
Yes. The Romans identified her with an Italic goddess of growth and named the month for her.
What is the difference between Maia and Maya?
Maia is Greek. Maya reaches English separately from Hebrew, meaning water, and Sanskrit, meaning illusion.
How popular is the name Maia?
In 2025, Maia was given to 715 babies in the United States, ranking #433 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Maia a girl's or a boy's name?
Maia is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Maia?
Maia has 2 syllables.
When was Maia most popular?
Maia peaked in 2022, when 752 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Maia?
Maia is usually shortened to Mai.
Is Maia a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Maia currently ranks #163 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.