Maya’s Notebook: Personalized Journal for Maya
Maya's Notebook puts her name front and center, written in flowing script across a soft watercolor apple blossom design.
- 160 lined pages
- 6" x 9" paperback
- Watercolor apple blossom cover with "Maya's Notebook" on the front
- Printed and shipped by Amazon
Maya: meaning and origin
Maya has several separate roots. Behind the Name gives three: Sanskrit for “illusion, magic”; a variant of Maia, the Greek and Roman goddess; and a Hebrew name from mayim, “water”. Wikipedia adds that in the Māori language it means “courage” and in Tupi “mother”. So the right meaning depends on the family.
Nicknames and variants
Behind the Name lists Mya as a variant, and Wikipedia gives Maia and Maja as other spellings, along with Mayya in Arabic. Maya is short enough that it is usually left as it is.
Famous people named Maya
Maya Angelou’s memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) brought her international acclaim, and in 1993 she read “On the Pulse of Morning” at Bill Clinton’s inauguration. Wikipedia says “Maya” was her brother’s nickname for her. Architect Maya Lin won the competition to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1981, at 21.
Is Maya a popular name?
Maya is one of the most even-handed names of recent decades. US Social Security data has it at 81st in the 2000s, when more than 40,000 American girls were named Maya, and 62nd in the 2010s, with almost as many births. It never made the top 200 before that.
Maya trivia
In Buddhist tradition, Behind the Name says, Maya was the mother of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. Maya Angelou has a first of her own: Wikipedia says she was one of the first women on the American Women quarters, released in 2022, and the first Black woman ever shown on a quarter.
Gift ideas that suit a Maya
- For a poet. A poetry notebook, in honor of Maya Angelou.
- For an architecture student. A sketch-and-notes book, in honor of Maya Lin.
- For Veterans Day. A notebook for a name tied to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
- For Christmas. A stocking notebook for a name with many meanings.
How Maya can use it
Any Maya, of any age. The 6" x 9" size is roomy enough for proper writing and small enough for a handbag or school bag. With 160 plain lined pages there’s no fixed layout, so it can be a diary, a gratitude journal, a study notebook, a recipe book or a home for to-do lists. Notebooks tend to multiply in drawers, but one with her name on the front is instantly hers.
The little things that make it hers
There’s something about seeing your own name in print. It makes a notebook feel like it belongs to you, which is a good reason to fill it. It also means Maya can pick hers out of a pile in a second, at school, at work or on the kitchen counter.
Frequently asked questions
How big is Maya’s Notebook? About the size of a trade paperback book: 6 x 9 inches (15.2 x 22.9 cm), 160 lined pages.
Where do I buy it? It’s sold on Amazon in the US, Australia and the UK. Amazon prints and ships each copy and handles delivery and returns.
Do you have other names? Yes, the same apple blossom design comes in hundreds of girls’ names. Start at all name notebooks or our personalized name notebooks guide.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Maya's Notebook is published by Black Stag Publishing.