How to say it
a · MA · ya
/əˈmɑ.jə/
Feminine
Amaya
End, or 'night rain'
What it means
Two roots converged: Basque Amaia ('the end, mother city,' from a Spanish-language novel by Navarro Villoslada, 1879) and Japanese 雨夜 (amaya, 'night rain'). The two readings now share the name in modern US use.
Amaya has two roots that converged in modern English use. The Basque Amaia means 'the end' or 'mother city' and was popularized as a feminine name by Francisco Navarro Villoslada's 1879 historical novel Amaya o los Vascos en el siglo VIII. The Japanese 雨夜 (amaya) means 'night rain.' The two share the spelling but the Basque pronunciation has the stress on the central 'ma' while the Japanese has flat tonal accent. In US use Amaya has been climbing since the 2010s and is now in the top 300. Common short: Maya or Mai.
Popularity over time
peaked at #129 in 2018, currently #180 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Spelling
Amaya (Y) is the Spanish-adapted spelling; Amaia (I) is the original Basque. Both pronounced ah-MAH-yah.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Amaya (Basque novel) Francisco Navarro Villoslada's 1879 historical novel of medieval Basque resistance
Spelling variants
- Amaia
- Amaiya