Girl's name
Maeva
Say it mah-AY-vuh
Polynesian origin welcome
3 syllables
Where Maeva is loved, common and rare
Common across Quebec and Scotland. Rare in England and Wales, Switzerland, Northern Ireland and nine more places.
1 in 289 girls born in Scotland in 2025
Quebec 42ndScotland 66thEngland and Wales 136th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 14 of the 40 official lists, among them Quebec (42nd), Scotland (66th) and England and Wales (136th).
Show all 14 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quebec province | 42nd 2025 | 123 | about 1 in 211 |
| Scotland | 66th 2025 | 62 | 1 in 289 |
| England and Wales | 136th 2025 | 366 | 1 in 692 |
| Switzerland | 265th 2025 | 31 | 1 in 1,097 |
| Northern Ireland | 290th 2025 | 5 | 1 in 1,457 |
| British Columbia province | 400th 2023 | 8 | about 1 in 1,495 |
| France as Maëva | 477th 2025 | 190 | 1 in 1,509 |
| Ireland | 544th 2025 | 6 | 1 in 3,521 |
| Cologne city | 630th 2023 | 1 | about 1 in 6,143 |
| Ontario province | 675th 2024 | 18 | about 1 in 3,026 |
| Berlin city | 937th 2023 | 2 | about 1 in 7,252 |
| Italy | 1359th 2024 | 6 | 1 in 29,862 |
| Austria | 1875th 2025 | 1 | 1 in 35,722 |
| Leipzig city | 344th 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 2,624 |
Rare, below the listed names: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Munich, Bonn, Rostock, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Catalonia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig). How we count, and every source
About the name
Maeva comes from the Tahitian word maeva, 'welcome'. Its origin is given as Polynesian.
Read the restShow less
It has three syllables, mah-AY-vuh. Maéva and Maëva are accented spellings, and Maeve is a similar-looking Irish name with a separate origin. Maiva and Maevia are variants.
Maeva ranks well in Quebec and Scotland and is used in England and Wales, and in Switzerland, France and Italy. The French records first show it in 1960 and place its peak in 2001. It is rising in more than twice as many places as it is falling. Its meaning is one of the warmest a name can carry, and its sound is easy in many languages.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- mah-AY-vuh, 3 syllables
- Meaning
welcome
- Origin
- Polynesian
- Other spellings
- Maeve
- Maevia
- Maevis
- Maiva
- Maua
Counted together here: Maéva and Maëva.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 5 of 10 regions, falling in 2.
Show the yearsShow less
Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 3214 | 3229 | 1977 | 682 | 354 | 221 | 139 | 123 | 124 | 136 |
| Scotland | 560 | 399 | 149 | 90 | 57 | 70 | 66 | |||
| Northern Ireland | 397 | 446 | 243 | 391 | 169 | 290 | ||||
| Ireland | 495 | 727 | 412 | 544 | ||||||
| Ontario | 914 | 862 | 631 | 621 | 502 | 580 | 413 | 675 | ||
| British Columbia | 596 | 520 | 331 | 390 | 326 | 234 | 400 | |||
| Quebec | 21 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 28 | 38 | 42 |
| France | 201 | 180 | 165 | 206 | 274 | 300 | 399 | 504 | 524 | 477 |
| The Netherlands | 714 | 776 | 682 | |||||||
| Switzerland | 271 | 238 | 207 | 228 | 262 | 256 | 212 | 304 | 233 | 265 |
| Rostock | 197 | 158 | ||||||||
| Italy | 2245 | 1856 | 1359 |
England and Wales, 1997 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 136 | 366 | 144.5 |
| 2024 | 124 | 390 | 151.2 |
| 2023 | 123 | 404 | 157.5 |
| 2022 | 139 | 362 | 137.4 |
| 2021 | 221 | 226 | 82.5 |
| 2020 | 354 | 125 | 46.6 |
| 2019 | 682 | 57 | 20.4 |
| 2018 | 1977 | 14 | 4.9 |
| 2017 | 3229 | 7 | 2.3 |
| 2016 | 3214 | 7 | 2.3 |
| 2015 | 5730 | 3 | 1.0 |
| 2014 | 4003 | 5 | 1.6 |
| 2013 | 4739 | 4 | 1.3 |
| 2012 | 2717 | 9 | 2.8 |
| 2011 | 5785 | 3 | 0.9 |
| 2010 | 4012 | 5 | 1.6 |
| 2009 | 4564 | 4 | 1.3 |
| 2008 | 4524 | 4 | 1.3 |
| 2007 | 5201 | 3 | 1.0 |
| 2006 | 4157 | 4 | 1.3 |
| 2004 | 3197 | 5 | 1.7 |
| 1997 | 2738 | 5 | 1.7 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Maeva in France since 1925 were born in or after 2001. First recorded in 1960. Her peak year there: 2001, at 872.3 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Maeva per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period. Her 2001 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.
Sister names for Maeva
1 in 438 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Maeva.
1 in 1,408 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Maeva.
1 in 3,567 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Maeva.
1 in 373 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Maeva.
1 in 911 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Maeva.
1 in 202 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Maeva. Same first letter as Maeva.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Margaux.
1 in 28,142 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Maeva.
1 in 649 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Maeva.
1 in 31,660 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Maeva.
1 in 1,921 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Maeva.
Middle names for Maeva
1 in 107 in Northern Ireland
Maeva Charlotte
3-2 beats · initials MC
Changes the beat after Maeva: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 86 in Ireland
Maeva Sophie
3-2 beats · initials MS
Changes the beat after Maeva: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Maeva Grace
3-1 beats · initials MG
Changes the beat after Maeva: 3 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Maeva Olivia
3-4 beats · initials MO · Maeva slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Maeva: 3 syllables, then 4 syllables. Maeva slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 132 in Northern Ireland
Maeva Ruby
3-2 beats · initials MR
Changes the beat after Maeva: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Maeva Rose
3-1 beats · initials MR
Changes the beat after Maeva: 3 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 102 in Ireland
Maeva Mia
3-2 beats · initials MM
Changes the beat after Maeva: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 173 in Northern Ireland
Maeva Nora
3-2 beats · initials MN
Changes the beat after Maeva: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
Same style as Maeva
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 2,878 in England and Wales
94% alike: moves with Maeva across countries and decades.
1 in 298 in England and Wales
88% alike: moves with Maeva across countries and decades.
1 in 911 in Northern Ireland
88% alike: moves with Maeva across countries and decades.
1 in 344 in Scotland
88% alike: moves with Maeva across countries and decades.
1 in 4,225 in Ireland
87% alike: moves with Maeva across countries and decades.
1 in 202 in Northern Ireland
86% alike: moves with Maeva across countries and decades.
1 in 3,518 in England and Wales
85% alike: moves with Maeva across countries and decades.
1 in 23,026 in England and Wales
85% alike: moves with Maeva across countries and decades.
Questions about Maeva
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Maeva?
Her best rank is No. 42 in Quebec in 2025, about 1 in 211 girls. She is in the published lists of 14 of our 40 regions.
What does Maeva mean?
Wiktionary glosses Maeva as "welcome".
How do you pronounce Maeva?
mah-AY-vuh, with 3 syllables.
Is Maeva getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 5 of 10 regions, falling in 2.
Which sister names go with Maeva?
The deck's top five sisters for Maeva: Ophelia, Juliette, Camille, Eloise and Lucie. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.