Head to head · Girls' names
Maya vs Mila
#62 vs #43 in 2025
Mila is a whisker ahead (#43 vs #62 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Mila is stepping back from its peak, Maya is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Maya 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
On the charts, Mila leads 4 measures of 6; Maya leads 1.
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: Maya —, Mila #1055 — Mila higher
- 1890s: Maya —, Mila #1312 — Mila higher
- 1900s: Maya —, Mila #1737 — Mila higher
- 1910s: Maya —, Mila #2323 — Mila higher
- 1920s: Maya —, Mila #2146 — Mila higher
- 1930s: Maya —, Mila #2257 — Mila higher
- 1940s: Maya #4264, Mila #2276 — Mila higher
- 1950s: Maya #3682, Mila #2299 — Mila higher
- 1960s: Maya #1952, Mila #2439 — Maya higher
- 1970s: Maya #757, Mila #3426 — Maya higher
- 1980s: Maya #631, Mila #4669 — Maya higher
- 1990s: Maya #257, Mila #4285 — Maya higher
- 2000s: Maya #80, Mila #1139 — Maya higher
- 2010s: Maya #66, Mila #97 — Maya higher
- 2020s: Maya #55, Mila #28 — Mila higher
Mila stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Mila took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Maya | Mila |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #1055 |
| 1890s | — | #1312 |
| 1900s | — | #1737 |
| 1910s | — | #2323 |
| 1920s | — | #2146 |
| 1930s | — | #2257 |
| 1940s | #4264 | #2276 |
| 1950s | #3682 | #2299 |
| 1960s | #1952 | #2439 |
| 1970s | #757 | #3426 |
| 1980s | #631 | #4669 |
| 1990s | #257 | #4285 |
| 2000s | #80 | #1139 |
| 2010s | #66 | #97 |
| 2020s | #55 | #28 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Maya
- England & Wales#15
- Canada#16
- Scotland#20
- France#76
Mila
- Canada#11
- Scotland#40
- England & Wales#46
- France#54
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
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.
Mila
dear, gracious, kind
The element mil- carries this sense across the Slavic languages. Worth knowing that Mila also reaches families by other roads: as a clipped form of Emilia, Camila or Amelia, and in Spanish-speaking families as a short form of Milagros, "miracles". The sound is the same; the family story behind it differs.
mil- (Slavic element: dear, gracious) → Milena / Ludmila → Mila
How it traveled
The root is Slavic: mil-, meaning dear or gracious, which appears in old compound names such as Miloslav, Bogumila, Ludmila and Milena. Mila began as the affectionate short form of those names and became a full given name in its own right across Serbia, Croatia, Russia, Poland and the Czech lands.
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
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.
Mila
MEE-lah
MEE-lah is the standard pronunciation and the one used in every language the name comes from. A second English pronunciation, MY-lah, circulates in the US, partly by analogy with the separate spelling Myla — so expect to correct people occasionally, whichever you choose.
- Millie — Informal; also a long-established given name in its own right in English, more often tied to Millicent or Amelia.
- Mimi — Household nickname rather than a formal one; used within families across several languages.
- Milka — The traditional Slavic diminutive of Mila, still used in Serbian and Croatian families.
- Mi — A one-syllable clip used informally; Mila is already short enough that many bearers use no nickname at all.
One short form, two names
- Maya and Mila both shorten to Mimi.
Short forms as recorded on each name’s own page. This is here so it is a decision rather than a discovery.
Who has carried each name
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
Mila
Mila Kunis (b. 1983) — That '70s Show and Black Swan 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 Maya if you want…
- a name fewer children share#62 in 2025 — maya will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 82% for Mila
Choose Mila if you want…
- a name most people already know#43 in 2025, 4,796 babies that year
- a name past its most crowded yearsMila is stepping back from its peak
- a name that feels very nowMila is stepping back from its peak
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
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.
Mila
Strengths
- Four letters, spelled the way it sounds in English, Spanish and most Slavic languages — rarely needs to be repeated or spelled out.
- Works as a standalone name or as the short form of Emilia, Camila, Amelia, Milena or Milagros, which gives a longer formal option if you want one.
- Charts in Canada, Scotland, England & Wales and France as well as the US, so it crosses borders without translation.
To consider
- Two pronunciations compete in the US, MEE-lah and MY-lah. Both are used; you will be the one who sets the default, and will sometimes have to reset it.
- It sits in a crowded sound-neighborhood — Mia, Milla, Myla, Ella, Layla, Amelia. Mail and roll calls may need a second look.
- The name's wave is genuinely recent, so nearly everyone who carries it in the US is a child. That reads young now and will simply read as a generation later on.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to 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.
Mila
82%chance Mila feels dated by 2040
Mila is coming down from a big peak (#14 in 2018). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
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 Maya and Mila 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 Maya and Mila?
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
- Transatlantic hits: loved on both sides of the ocean
- America's top 100 names right now
- Two-syllable names, the American default
- all guides
Every list here names both Maya and Mila — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Maya or Mila — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Maya or Mila?
- Mila, in 2025: Mila ranked #43 with 4,796 babies; Maya ranked #62 with 3,712 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Maya or Mila?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Maya moved down 1 place; Mila moved down 23 places.
- Which is the older name, Maya or Mila?
- Maya entered the US charts in 1940; Mila entered the US charts in 1881. On the American record, Mila is the older name.
- How many people are named Maya and Mila?
- About 122,000 people named Maya are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 83,500 people named Mila are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Do Maya and Mila share a nickname?
- Yes — both shorten to Mimi, so in a house with both names the short form would not say which child is meant.
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 Maya, Mila and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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