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HelpMaya, Maia and Maja
Which would you use and why? Are they full names or dimunitives? How do you pronounce each of them? Which pronunciation do you prefer?
I've always liked Maya more, but now it seems boring and I feel that it will date more easily. The MAY-ə pronunciation seems more predominant yet I cannot stand the trendy "ay" sound as it seems to lack any real substance and is used in so many common names. I would use this name if I knew, 100%, that I could avoid this pronunciation.
Maia seems like it would be more likely to use my preferred MIE-ə pronunciation. It less popular, but for some reason it seems more cutesy than Maya.
I like Maja and thinks its pronunciation is the most defined...at least among its own cultures. I live in Canada, where I feel that the j might get pronounced and cause frustration for someone with this name. Also, I'm not sure how much it is its own name as opposed to a nickname. Would it be the equivalent of naming a daughter Katie, or would it be more similar to a full-name-nickname such as Sandra?
So what do you think?
I've always liked Maya more, but now it seems boring and I feel that it will date more easily. The MAY-ə pronunciation seems more predominant yet I cannot stand the trendy "ay" sound as it seems to lack any real substance and is used in so many common names. I would use this name if I knew, 100%, that I could avoid this pronunciation.
Maia seems like it would be more likely to use my preferred MIE-ə pronunciation. It less popular, but for some reason it seems more cutesy than Maya.
I like Maja and thinks its pronunciation is the most defined...at least among its own cultures. I live in Canada, where I feel that the j might get pronounced and cause frustration for someone with this name. Also, I'm not sure how much it is its own name as opposed to a nickname. Would it be the equivalent of naming a daughter Katie, or would it be more similar to a full-name-nickname such as Sandra?
So what do you think?
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Replies
I personally would lean towards Maya for 2 reasons... 1 is that it's a relatively easy and obvious way to spell it. 2 is because though in Jpns. it could either be Maya or Maia, I prefer the look of Maya and the ease of putting kanji w/ it. (It's a name in Jpns. as well as some Eur. languages)
I also like the meaning/history of Maya better than the other sp.s. on the European end.
In Jpns., it's prn. like Ma-ya... or my-a.
As far as I'm concerned, it's its own full name unless you make it otherwise.
I also like the meaning/history of Maya better than the other sp.s. on the European end.
In Jpns., it's prn. like Ma-ya... or my-a.
As far as I'm concerned, it's its own full name unless you make it otherwise.
This message was edited 6/6/2010, 3:26 AM
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Maia because of the Mythological associations. The only pronunciation I like is [MY-a].
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I like Maia best.. I would pronounce it 'MY-uh'. I think it is very usable as a full name. I much prefer the pronouncation MYuh to MAYuh xxx
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Here in the US Southwest, Maya is the only form of the name I've seen IRL, and everyone pronounces it MIE-uh. Maia is my favorite form, and I pronounce it MIE-uh as well.
I believe almost no one would get Maja right down here. It's just not intuitive, and I think a little Maja would hear MAHZJ-uh all the time. It does seem a little nicknamey, but I think it would stand alone.
I believe almost no one would get Maja right down here. It's just not intuitive, and I think a little Maja would hear MAHZJ-uh all the time. It does seem a little nicknamey, but I think it would stand alone.
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I like Maia a lot (this spelling only).
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I prn them all the same. Maja is a very, very common name here in Sweden and Maja is also by far the most common spelling. Maya is the second most common spelling. I don't like the name, mainly because it's so popular. It seems like all little girls are named Maja. It's pronounced MIE-ah and is used as a full name, I have never heard it as a nickname.
EDIT: Oh, maybe Meja could be an option? Or Meya? Meja is also quite common here.
EDIT: Oh, maybe Meja could be an option? Or Meya? Meja is also quite common here.
This message was edited 6/5/2010, 12:47 PM
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I greatly prefer Maia because of its roots in Roman and Greek mythology. It seems the most classic to me and that's the strongest selling point as far as I'm concerned. Also, I just prefer 'aia' to 'aya.'
Maya is fine if the surname has an Indian or Hebrew background but the spelling doesn't appeal to me nearly as much.
Maja is a diminutive of Maria and I'm usually pretty anal when it comes to not using nns or pet names as full names because it leaves the individual without options.
It's funny how people view things differently. I would think Maia or Maya would be most often pronounced correctly while Maja would be butchered on a regular basis. Then again, I live in the Southeast US. Also, I pronounce all three spellings MY-ah and have never heard MAY-ah for Maia or Maya.
ETA that while I realize Maja can be a variant of Maia, because it's also a diminutive of Maria, that's primarily the way I see it.
Maya is fine if the surname has an Indian or Hebrew background but the spelling doesn't appeal to me nearly as much.
Maja is a diminutive of Maria and I'm usually pretty anal when it comes to not using nns or pet names as full names because it leaves the individual without options.
It's funny how people view things differently. I would think Maia or Maya would be most often pronounced correctly while Maja would be butchered on a regular basis. Then again, I live in the Southeast US. Also, I pronounce all three spellings MY-ah and have never heard MAY-ah for Maia or Maya.
ETA that while I realize Maja can be a variant of Maia, because it's also a diminutive of Maria, that's primarily the way I see it.
This message was edited 6/5/2010, 12:50 PM
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I pronounce them all MAH-ya. They are full names to me. I've never heard them being pronounced MAY-a, I'm pretty sure that pronunciation wouldn't be correct.
I used to like Maia and Maya. I still kind of like them but wouldn't use them. The thing is that they make me think of the human sacrifices of the Mayans. I don't know why as they had such an interesting and great culture but I can only think of that for some reason since watching a documentary. I also think the name is way too common.
I dislike Maja because it doesn't look very nice at all. I like Maia and Maya about the same. Used to prefer Maia for a long time, though. Not cutesy at all it looks elegant spelled like that.
Maja would get mispronounced as MAY-ja or MAH-ja a lot. Maya and Maia are full names and Maja could be seen as a nickname for Maria but also as a variant of Maia and Maya, I guess, so it's a full name. Not like Sandra nor like Katie. Just a full name. I doubt anyone still uses it as a nickname.
However I much prefer Kaia, Kaya and Gaia.
I used to like Maia and Maya. I still kind of like them but wouldn't use them. The thing is that they make me think of the human sacrifices of the Mayans. I don't know why as they had such an interesting and great culture but I can only think of that for some reason since watching a documentary. I also think the name is way too common.
I dislike Maja because it doesn't look very nice at all. I like Maia and Maya about the same. Used to prefer Maia for a long time, though. Not cutesy at all it looks elegant spelled like that.
Maja would get mispronounced as MAY-ja or MAH-ja a lot. Maya and Maia are full names and Maja could be seen as a nickname for Maria but also as a variant of Maia and Maya, I guess, so it's a full name. Not like Sandra nor like Katie. Just a full name. I doubt anyone still uses it as a nickname.
However I much prefer Kaia, Kaya and Gaia.
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I know a guy who calls his girlfriend/fiancee Maja and her real name is Muriah... They're from the States.
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I like Maia best because of the mythology reference. I also like the other spellings- I think Maja is more 'foreign', where I live at least, but I don't think it would run into too many pronunciation problems. I've never heard Maya pronounced MAY-a... I think it would b pronounced MIE-a like the other spellings.
I'm not sure about how nicknamey any of them are...
I'm not sure about how nicknamey any of them are...
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