Maya (given name)

• In Hindu philosophy, Māyā means "illusion", and in Hindu mythology it is also an alternate name of the Hindu goddess Durga. According to tradition, Queen Māyā of Sakya was the name of the mother of Siddartha Gautama, the Buddha.
• Maya can be as well a name of Japanese origin, with different meanings. Variants include Mayako and Mayaka. The similar-sounding Japanese name Mayu means "truth, reason", while some sources say Amaya is a Japanese name meaning "night rain".
• The name "Maya" in Amharic means "a lens that helps to see further".
• In the Nepali language, Maya means "love".
• In Old Persian the name means "generous".
• In the Tupi language, spoken by Brazilian native Indians, it means "mother", while Mayara means "grandmother".
• Maia in the Māori language, means "courage" or "bravery", popular for Māori girls in New Zealand.
• The name may be a variant form of the Greek theonym Maia, the eldest of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes in Greek and Roman mythology.
• Variously spelled Maia or Maja, it can also be used as a short form of Maria or Mary in Germany, the Scandinavian countries, and various East European and Balkan countries.
• Maya is also used as a short form for the name Amalia or the Basque name Amaia or Amaya in Spanish-speaking countries.
• The name Maya can also be used as a tribute to the Maya peoples of southern Mexico and northern Central America or to the Maya, a group of Indigenous Australians.

  Notable persons with this name

• Maya, a High Priest of Amun until at least year four of Akhenaten
• Maya , the treasurer to Pharaohs Tutankhamun, Ay, and Horemheb of Egypt
• Maya Ackerman, Russian-American computer scientist
• Maya Ali, Pakistani actress and model
• Maya Angelou, African-American author and poet
• Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, better known as M.I.A., British singer/rapper
• Maya Bar-Hillel, Israeli psychologist
• Maya Kalle-Bentzur, Israeli Olympic runner and long jumper
• Maya Berović, Bosnian pop star
• Maya Bond, Japanese American singer
• Maya Bouskilla, Israeli singer
• Maya Days, American singer
• Maya Deren, American avant-garde filmmaker
• Maya Diab, Lebanese singer
• Maya Dolas, Indian gangster
• Maya Gabeira, Brazilian surfer
• Maya Hawke, American actress
• Maya Kazan, American actress and director
• Maya Kulenovic, Canadian artist
• Maya Lin, American architect and sculptor, designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
• Maya Mishalska, Mexican actress
• Maya Moore, American basketball player
• Maya Nasri, Lebanese singer
• Maya Okamoto, Japanese voice actress
• Maya Plisetskaya, Soviet born ballet dancer
• Maya Ritter, Canadian actress
• Maya Rudolph, American actress and Saturday Night Live cast member
• Maya Simantov, Israeli singer
• Maya Soetoro-Ng, Indonesian-American half-sister of U.S. President Barack Obama
• Maya Stojan, Swiss actress
• Maya Tahan, Israeli tennis player
• Maya Tskitishvili, Georgian economist and politician
• Maya Vik, Norwegian singer
• Maya Wiley, American civil rights activist
• Maya Yoshida, Japanese professional footballer
• Maya , South Korean K-Pop singer
• Maya , vocalist of Japanese visual kei band LM.C
• Maja Włoszczowska, Polish mountain biker, two-time Olympic silver medalist

  Fictional characters named Maya

• Maya the Bee, the main character of the 1912 German children's book The Adventures of Maya the Bee and its various adaptions
• Maya, an Indian DC Comics super-heroine
• Maya, the alter ego of the Marvel Comics superhero Paragon
• Maya, the original name given to Aelita in the French animated TV series Code Lyoko
• Maya, a minor character in the shōnen manga Azumanga Daioh
• Maya, a character in the manga series Is the Order a Rabbit?
• Maya, one of the main characters in the ' franchise
• Maya Ibuki, a minor character in the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise
• Maya Santos, a character from the children's animated series Maya & Miguel
• Maya St. Germain, a secondary character in the Pretty Little Liars series of young-adult novels
• Maya, one of the main characters in Hiroki Endo's manga series '
• Maya, fictional CIA intelligence analyst who tracked down Osama bin Laden from the film Zero Dark Thirty
• Maya Yamato, drummer of the band Pastel＊Palettes from the BanG Dream! franchise
• Maya Tendo, one of the main characters from the Shojo Kageki Revue Starlight franchise

  Live action TV

• Maya Mehrotra/Maya Arjun Sharma, the lead character from the Sony Entertainment Television India drama series, Beyhadh
• Maya, the Yellow Ranger in Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy
• Maya |Maya, an alien character on the television series Space: 1999
• Maya Chinn, a character from the American daytime soap opera Passions
• Maya Fisher, a character from the HBO TV show Six Feet Under
• Maya Gallo, a character in the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me
• Maya Herrera, a character in the NBC drama series, Heroes
• Maya Wilkes, a character from the American sitcom Girlfriends
• Maya the Magnificent, the title elephant of the 1966 film and 1967 TV series Maya
• Maya, a minor character in Battlestar Galactica
• Maya Avant, a character from The Bold and the Beautiful
• , a character in the teen drama
• Maya Hart, a character in the Disney channel show Girl Meets World

  Games

• Maya, a character from video game Killer Instinct 2
• Maya Amano, a player character from videogame Persona 2
• Maya Do'Urden, a sister of Drizzt Do'Urden in Forgotten Realms
• Maya Fey, a secondary character in the Ace Attorney franchise.
• Maya, one of the six playable characters in the video game Borderlands 2
• Maya Ocean, one of the four pre-made mermaids in
• Maya Torres, one of the playable characters in State Of Decay