Head to head · Girls' names
Iris vs Maya
#61 vs #62 in 2025
Iris is a whisker ahead (#61 vs #62 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Iris is climbing the charts fast, Maya is holding its place on the charts.
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
On the charts, Iris leads 4 measures of 6; Maya leads 2.
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: Iris #649, Maya — — Iris higher
- 1890s: Iris #477, Maya — — Iris higher
- 1900s: Iris #360, Maya — — Iris higher
- 1910s: Iris #270, Maya — — Iris higher
- 1920s: Iris #221, Maya — — Iris higher
- 1930s: Iris #214, Maya — — Iris higher
- 1940s: Iris #249, Maya #4264 — Iris higher
- 1950s: Iris #287, Maya #3682 — Iris higher
- 1960s: Iris #397, Maya #1952 — Iris higher
- 1970s: Iris #434, Maya #757 — Iris higher
- 1980s: Iris #457, Maya #631 — Iris higher
- 1990s: Iris #461, Maya #257 — Maya higher
- 2000s: Iris #366, Maya #80 — Maya higher
- 2010s: Iris #221, Maya #66 — Maya higher
- 2020s: Iris #88, Maya #55 — Maya higher
Iris stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Maya has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Iris | Maya |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #649 | — |
| 1890s | #477 | — |
| 1900s | #360 | — |
| 1910s | #270 | — |
| 1920s | #221 | — |
| 1930s | #214 | — |
| 1940s | #249 | #4264 |
| 1950s | #287 | #3682 |
| 1960s | #397 | #1952 |
| 1970s | #434 | #757 |
| 1980s | #457 | #631 |
| 1990s | #461 | #257 |
| 2000s | #366 | #80 |
| 2010s | #221 | #66 |
| 2020s | #88 | #55 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Iris
- France#11
- England & Wales#61
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
Iris
Rainbow
From the Greek word iris, 'rainbow'. The flower and the iris of the eye were both named from the same word, for their color.
Ἶρις (Greek) → Iris (Latin) → Iris (English)
How it traveled
Iris is Greek, both a common noun for the rainbow and the name of the goddess who carried messages along it in early Greek poetry. Latin took the word unchanged, and botanists later applied it to the flower, while Greek medical writers used it for the colored part of the eye.
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
Iris
EYE-ris
Two syllables, stress on the first. French speakers say it closer to ee-REESS, with the stress at the end — worth knowing if the name will be used on both sides of the Atlantic.
- Iri — Informal, used within families; not a standalone given name in English.
- Ri — Informal and occasional; most bearers are called by the full name at every age.
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
Iris
Iris Murdoch (b. 1919) — Booker Prize-winning novelist and philosopher
Iris Apfel (b. 1921) — Fashion icon still starring in campaigns past age 100
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 Iris if you want…
- a name on the way upup 66 places on the charts in five years
- a long American recordIris was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
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
Iris
Strengths
- Four letters, spelled the way it sounds; almost no one needs it repeated or corrected.
- The same spelling works in French, Spanish, Dutch and German, with only the stress shifting.
- An ordinary English word as well as a name — people already know the flower and the part of the eye.
To consider
- It offers almost no short forms. A child who wants a nickname will have to improvise one, and most bearers simply go by Iris.
- Said quickly, it can be misheard as 'Irish', and it runs together with surnames that begin with S — try the full name aloud before deciding.
- It is climbing steadily rather than sitting still, so it may feel less uncommon by the time your child reaches school than it does now.
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
Iris
58%chance Iris feels dated by 2040
Iris is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
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 Iris 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 Iris and Maya?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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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
- Short and sweet: names of four letters or fewer
- America's top 100 names right now
- Two-syllable names, the American default
- all guides
Every list here names both Iris and Maya — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Iris or Maya — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Iris or Maya?
- Iris, in 2025: Iris ranked #61 with 3,729 babies; Maya ranked #62 with 3,712 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Iris or Maya?
- Iris. Over the last five years Iris moved up 66 places; Maya moved down 1 place.
- Which is the older name, Iris or Maya?
- Iris was already in use when US records began in 1880; Maya entered the US charts in 1940. On the American record, Iris is the older name.
- How many people are named Iris and Maya?
- About 76,000 people named Iris 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 Iriss or Mayas in the classroom?
- Iris 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 Iris, Maya and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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