Show ContentsMaya History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The noble Spanish family name Maya is classified as being of habitation origin. Habitation names are those family names which are derived from either the location of the place of residence of the initial bearer or from the name of the town or village from whence he hailed. The name is also derived from the Basque term "maia" meaning "high meseta."

Early Origins of the Maya family

The surname Maya was first found in Maya del Batzan, located in the province of Navarre. One of the earliest references to this name is a record of one Domingo de Maya y Enderiz, born in Pamplona, who married Ana Suarez de Cardoso y Maldonado in 1628. He later settled in the Department of Antioquia, Republic of Colombia, where he was Accountant of the Royal Treasury.

Early History of the Maya family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Maya research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Maya History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Maya Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Mayas, Maja, Maia and others.

Early Notables of the Maya family

Prominent among bearers of the family name at this time was

  • Ventura de Maya y Suarez, born in Santa Fe de Bogota, Colombia, he was one of the founders of the city of Medellin

Maya Ranking

In the United States, the name Maya is the 5,815th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1


United States Maya migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Maya Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Juan De Maya, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1810 2
  • Francisco Maya, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1816 2
  • Friedrich Maya, who immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1864

Contemporary Notables of the name Maya (post 1700) +

  • Rafael Maya (1896-1980), Colombian poet, literary critic and professor
  • Héctor Domingo Maya (b. 1913), lawyer from Argentina
  • Fernando Maya (b. 1853), Portuguese writer
  • Gabriela Maya Yarce (b. 1917), teacher in Colombia
  • Maya Buzinova (1929-2022), Russian animator
  • Maya Solis, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 2008 3
  • Maya Angelou (1928-2014), born Marguerite Annie Johnson, an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
  • Dr Maya Even (b. 1961), Canadian-born, British-based, University lecturer, journalist and television presenter
  • Maya Rudolph (b. 1972), American Primetime Emmy Award nominated actress, known for her roles in Bridesmaids (2011), Gattaca (1997) and Idiocracy (2006)
  • Maya Lubinsky, American actress, known for her work on Good Family (2014-2015), The Premonition (2009), The Empty Plan (2010) and The Automaton (2007)


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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