Head to head · Girls' names
Clara vs Maya
#63 vs #62 in 2025
Maya is a whisker ahead (#62 vs #63 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Maya is holding its place on the charts, Clara is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Clara has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Clara and Maya each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Clara #10, Maya — — Clara higher
- 1890s: Clara #12, Maya — — Clara higher
- 1900s: Clara #24, Maya — — Clara higher
- 1910s: Clara #38, Maya — — Clara higher
- 1920s: Clara #55, Maya — — Clara higher
- 1930s: Clara #81, Maya — — Clara higher
- 1940s: Clara #137, Maya #4264 — Clara higher
- 1950s: Clara #230, Maya #3682 — Clara higher
- 1960s: Clara #378, Maya #1952 — Clara higher
- 1970s: Clara #539, Maya #757 — Clara higher
- 1980s: Clara #546, Maya #631 — Clara higher
- 1990s: Clara #422, Maya #257 — Maya higher
- 2000s: Clara #266, Maya #80 — Maya higher
- 2010s: Clara #118, Maya #66 — Maya higher
- 2020s: Clara #92, Maya #55 — Maya higher
Clara stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Maya has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Clara | Maya |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #10 | — |
| 1890s | #12 | — |
| 1900s | #24 | — |
| 1910s | #38 | — |
| 1920s | #55 | — |
| 1930s | #81 | — |
| 1940s | #137 | #4264 |
| 1950s | #230 | #3682 |
| 1960s | #378 | #1952 |
| 1970s | #539 | #757 |
| 1980s | #546 | #631 |
| 1990s | #422 | #257 |
| 2000s | #266 | #80 |
| 2010s | #118 | #66 |
| 2020s | #92 | #55 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Clara
- Canada#20
- Scotland#82
- England & Wales#84
Maya
- England & Wales#15
- Canada#16
- Scotland#20
- France#76
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Clara
clear, bright
The Latin adjective means clear in every sense the English word has: transparent, audible, obvious, famous. It gives English clarify, declare, clarion and clear itself. As a name it spread across Catholic Europe with a thirteenth-century saint and became enormous in nineteenth-century America, and it is now back in the top hundred after three generations away.
a Latin adjective meaning clear or bright → a thirteenth-century saint spreads the name across Europe → an enormous American wave at the end of the nineteenth century → three generations out of use → back in the top hundred in this century
How it traveled
She wrote in her diary that she had once believed she had creative gift, but had given up the idea: a woman must not wish to compose, and why should she expect to be the one to do it. She was nineteen when she wrote it.
Maya
Depends on which road you follow: 'illusion' in Sanskrit, 'mother' or 'nurse' in Greek, 'water' in modern Hebrew
These are not rival guesses at one word but several distinct names that arrived at the same spelling. Sanskrit माया (māyā) is a philosophical term for the illusory surface of the world, and Māyā is also the name given in Buddhist tradition to the Buddha's mother. Greek Maia was the eldest of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes; the Roman Maia gave her name to the month of May. In Hebrew, Maya is generally connected to mayim, 'water'. Slavic Maja and Майя run alongside all of these.
How it traveled
The oldest written traces are the Sanskrit māyā of Hindu philosophy and the Greek Maia of the Pleiades, two unrelated words that happen to sound alike. Latin took Maia from Greek and attached her to the month of May, which is how the sound stayed alive in Europe long after the goddess faded.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Clara
KLAIR-uh
Two syllables, stress at the front. The first vowel divides the English-speaking world — KLAR-uh in Britain and Ireland, KLAIR-uh in most of America — and both are entirely correct.
- Clarrie — The old British short form, warm and currently unfashionable enough to be interesting.
- Lala — Built from the sound; a family form rather than a public one.
Maya
MY-ah
Two syllables, stress on the first. The Sanskrit original is closer to MAH-yah, and Polish or German Maja is pronounced the same way as English Maya. The main mix-up is with Mia (MEE-ah), a separate name.
- May — The most common short form in English, and a long-established given name in its own right.
- Mai — Same sound as May with a spelling closer to the parent name; also an independent name in Welsh, Vietnamese and Japanese.
- Mimi — A family-level pet form rather than a public one; used affectionately by some households, not something a teacher would reach for.
Who has carried each name
Clara
Clara Barton (b. 1821) — Founded the American Red Cross
Clara Schumann (b. 1819) — Piano virtuoso who premiered Brahms's music
Clara Bow (b. 1905) — The original "It girl" of silent film
Maya
Maya Angelou (b. 1928) — Poet of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Lin (b. 1959) — Designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at age 21
Maya Rudolph (b. 1972) — SNL great and comedy star
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Clara if you want…
- a name on the way upup 40 places on the charts in five years
- a long American recordClara was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Maya
Choose Maya if you want…
- a name holding steadyMaya is holding its place on the charts
- a name that charts abroad tooMaya is on the national lists of England & Wales, Canada, Scotland and France
- a newer arrivalMaya entered the US charts in 1940
- a name that feels very nowMaya is holding its place on the charts
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Clara
Strengths
- It works without alteration in English, Spanish, German, Italian and Scandinavian.
- The meaning is clear, positive and easy to explain to a child.
- It is old enough to be beyond fashion and current enough not to sound like a costume.
To consider
- The first vowel is said two ways and she will hear both.
- It is rising fast, so it will be commoner among her contemporaries than in the record.
- Clara, Claire and Clare are close enough that all three will be substituted.
Maya
Strengths
- Short, phonetic and readable on sight in English, Spanish, German, Polish and Hebrew — few names travel that far without needing a spelling lesson.
To consider
- Mia, Maia, Maja and Mya all sit close by, so expect to spell it aloud now and then — the sound alone will not tell people which one you mean.
- The Sanskrit sense, 'illusion', is a philosophical term rather than a compliment, and anyone who knows it may mention it. The Greek and Hebrew readings are just as legitimate.
- Familiar without being everywhere: most people will have heard the name, and a child is unlikely to share it with a classmate.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Clara
12%chance Clara feels dated by 2040
Clara has held the top-100 across 7 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Maya
40%chance Maya feels dated by 2040
Maya sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Clara and Maya in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Clara and Maya?
Put both to the vote.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Clara and Maya — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Clara or Maya — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Clara or Maya?
- Maya, in 2025: Maya ranked #62 with 3,712 babies; Clara ranked #63 with 3,601 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Clara or Maya?
- Clara. Over the last five years Clara moved up 40 places; Maya moved down 1 place.
- Which is the older name, Clara or Maya?
- Clara was already in use when US records began in 1880; Maya entered the US charts in 1940. On the American record, Clara is the older name.
- How many people are named Clara and Maya?
- About 108,000 people named Clara are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 122,000 people named Maya are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Claras or Mayas in the classroom?
- Clara will almost certainly be the only one in school. Maya will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Clara, Maya and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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