What is the japanese meaning of the name maya? what is the correct spelling of the name pronounced My-yah?

Question

My friend's baby is due any time now and she is trying to find the answers to both of these questions. I have looked all over the web but can't seem to find accurate and original meanings and spellings of the name. Thanks for any help! XD

Answer 1

http://japanese.about.com/blgirlsname_m.htm
Don't know if this might help.
Names beginning with 'Mi' in Japenese mean beauty.
Lovely name by the way x x x

Answer 2

I'm not sure about Japanese, but on behind the name.com there are 3 meanings to the name 'Maya'.

1. Indian: Means "illusion" in Sanskrit. In Buddhist tradition this is the name of the mother of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha).

2. The English version of 'Maia': In Greek and Roman mythology she was the eldest of the Pleiades, the group of seven stars in the constellation Taurus, who were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Her son by Zeus was Hermes.

3. Jewish: Derived from Hebrew מַיִם (mayim) "water".

I know it's not exactly what you were looking for, but the name's pretty anyway, regardless of the meaning.

Answer 3

this is a guess, but Japan is a buddhist country and Maya is the god of confusion/misperception/ignorance, or state of confusion that buddhists are trying to escape from/ remove. Perhaps they use it to remind themselves to be good?

If you look at the link I've provided, one of the meanings for the hindu name is illusion, which is also another way of thinking of Maya.

But it's just a guess, could be something completely different

Answer 4

My youngest daughter is called Maya. She is named after the Bhuddist goddess

'[who is] personified as the world-protecting, feminine, maternal side of the ultimate Being, and as such, stands for the spontaneous, loving acceptance of life's tangible reality.... she affirms, she is, she represents and enjoys the delirium of the manifested forms....'

which I think is just lovely :)

In Bhuddist philosophy, the material world is often represented as an illusion, not ultimate reality, and therefore Maya is also sometimes thought of as the godess of illusion.