I’m almost 38 weeks and my husband and I have [name_f]Maia[/name_f] on the top of our shortlist at the moment. I think it’s lovely but don’t want to pick the next [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] by accident. I’m a bit concerned to see it name berry’s top names of the last month. So:
[name_m]How[/name_m] popular is [name_f]Maia[/name_f] (pron. my-ah) in your area?
[name_m]How[/name_m] likely is it that this name will explode in popularity?
Thanks for the opinions!!
I’m in the northeast- I have 2 neighborhood kids around age 5 named [name_f]Maia[/name_f] (but spelled [name_f]Maya[/name_f] I THINK) and then one college friend’s child is [name_f]Maya[/name_f]. So hard to predict! It’s a great name, and at least around here that’s a more unique spelling
I went to school with one at the start of high school but other then that no Maias. I think with the kind of popularity it has there’s a good chance she’d be [name_f]Maia[/name_f] _ for some years of school but not every year. It’s not like [name_f]Emma[/name_f] or [name_f]Olivia[/name_f].
I don’t leave in an English-speaking country so I can’t help with telling you how popular it is (though I’ve heard of a couple of little girls named [name_f]Maia[/name_f]/[name_f]Maya[/name_f] online). But here are some alternatives in case you decide the popularity does bother you!
[name_f]Kaia[/name_f]
[name_f]May[/name_f]
[name_f]Myra[/name_f] (mai-rah)
[name_f]Mira[/name_f]
[name_u]Marley[/name_u]
[name_f]Mireille[/name_f]
[name_f]Mariah[/name_f]
[name_f]Millie[/name_f]
[name_f]Mina[/name_f]
[name_f]Livia[/name_f]
[name_f]Thalia[/name_f]
[name_f]Twila[/name_f]
[name_f]Lilia[/name_f]
[name_f]Emilia[/name_f]
[name_f]Bea[/name_f] (when pronounced bee-ah)
[name_f]Amalia[/name_f]
[name_f]Dahlia[/name_f]
I don’t know of any Maias…I do know two Mayas, one in middle school & the other in graduate school. I’m in upstate NY, if that helps w/deciding on popularity.
For me [name_f]Maia[/name_f] is pronounced [name_f]May[/name_f]-a, but I have no idea if that’s common or if I’m an outlier…I just like the pronunciation of [name_f]May[/name_f]-a. 
[name_f]Maya[/name_f] is popular obviously so [name_f]Maia[/name_f] would sound popular to people. I know 2 who spell it [name_f]Maia[/name_f], my second cousin and a girl from school. I know lots of Mayas
I know 3. Two of them are [name_f]Maya[/name_f], with the “My” sound. They’re both 12/14.
I do know a [name_f]Maia[/name_f], but she has the “[name_f]May[/name_f]” sound. I think she’s 18.
I think I’ve known 2 girls with the name in my life. Both spelled it [name_f]Maya[/name_f]. One would be about 18 or 19, and the other would be about 11. I’ve never heard [name_f]MAY[/name_f]-uh before. The name has always been MY-uh to me, both the [name_f]Maya[/name_f] and [name_f]Maia[/name_f] spellings.
I love [name_f]Maia[/name_f]! I don’t think she will become the next [name_f]Olivia[/name_f]. Looking at the popularity for [name_f]Maya[/name_f] (the most common spelling), it’s been sitting between 60 and 80 for about 15 years. It’s not a new name people are discovering or rediscovering. I would say the popularity has probably plateaued where it is. That said, I don’t think she’ll become significantly less common any time soon.
There is an adult [name_f]Maya[/name_f] in my family as well as a child [name_f]Mya[/name_f] but no [name_f]Maia[/name_f] that I know at all. I think it’s a beautiful name though.