Ella vs Maia
Ella and Maiacompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
Norway · Girls
In 2025, Ella was ranked #4 and Maia #131 among girls in Norway.
New Zealand · Girls
In 2023, Ella was ranked #9 and Maia #35 among girls in New Zealand.
Scotland · Girls
In 2024, Ella was ranked #9 and Maia #164 among girls in Scotland.
Northern Ireland · Girls
In 2024, Ella was ranked #12 and Maia #253 among girls in Northern Ireland.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
In 2025, Ella was ranked #17 and Maia #213 among girls in Republic of Ireland.
England and Wales · Girls
In 2024, Ella was ranked #39 and Maia #190 among girls in England and Wales.
Ella and Maia over time
Ella and Maia appear together in 5 published lists, across 148 years of shared records. Ella held the stronger position in more years in 5 of them, Maia in 0.
In none of those lists did their order change and stay changed.
Maia reached its own highest recorded position earlier in 3 of those lists, Ella in 2. Each position is a place inside its own list, so this compares when they peaked and never how high.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- Repeatedly exchanged positions
Ella and Maia changed places 6 times in Norway · Girls between 1979 and 2025, ending at #4 and #131.
- Closest over the longest run
Across 25 shared years in New Zealand · Girls, Ella and Maia averaged 31.8 places apart, ending at #9 and #35.
- Longest-running competitions
Ella and Maia were both ranked in Norway · Girls for 41 years, from 1979 to 2025, ending at #4 and #131.
- Peaked in the same years
Both reached their highest recorded position in New Zealand · Girls within 2 years — Ella #1 in 2007, Maia #15 in 2005.
List by list
Norway · Girls41 shared years, 1979–2025
Ella held the stronger position in 33 of those years, Maia in 8.
Highest recorded here: Ella #3 in 2019, Maia #95 in 2020.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Ella #4, Maia #131.
England and Wales · Girls29 shared years, 1996–2024
Ella held the stronger position in 29 of those years, Maia in 0.
Highest recorded here: Ella #6 in 2015, Maia #176 in 2001.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2024: Ella #39, Maia #190.
Republic of Ireland · Girls27 shared years, 1999–2025
Ella held the stronger position in 27 of those years, Maia in 0.
Highest recorded here: Ella #3 in 2007, Maia #118 in 2015.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Ella #17, Maia #213.
Northern Ireland · Girls26 shared years, 1999–2024
Ella held the stronger position in 26 of those years, Maia in 0.
Highest recorded here: Ella #2 in 2015, Maia #132 in 2003.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2024: Ella #12, Maia #253.
New Zealand · Girls25 shared years, 1999–2023
Ella held the stronger position in 25 of those years, Maia in 0.
Highest recorded here: Ella #1 in 2007, Maia #15 in 2005.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2023: Ella #9, Maia #35.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Ella | Maia |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Editorially researched profile | Editorially researched profile |
| Gender usage | female | female |
| Meaning | A diminutive of Eleanor, Ellen and other names beginning with 'El-', also used as a short form of names ending in '-ella'. Widely used across Scandinavian and Germanic languages as well as English. | A genuinely multi-origin name rather than one shared etymology. In Maori, maia (usually written with a macron, maia) is an adjective/noun meaning 'brave, bold, confident' — Te Aka also separately lists Maia as an alternate name for Waiti, a star in the Pleiades cluster. In Greek and Roman mythology, Maia was the eldest of the seven Pleiades, mother of Hermes by Zeus, with a proposed meaning of 'good mother', possibly a nursery-form of the word for 'mother'. It is also used as a form of Maria in Estonian and Basque. |
| Origin | Germanic, diminutive form | Genuinely multiple, independent origins — Maori, Greek/Roman mythology, and Estonian/Basque |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɛl.ə/ | /ˈmai̯a/ |
| Syllables | 2 | 1 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | AU-NSW, GB-ENW, GB-NIR, GB-SCT, IE, NO, NZ | GB-ENW, GB-NIR, GB-SCT, IE, NO, NZ |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Girls #4 (2025) | Norway · Girls #131 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | 90/100 | 90/100 |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 95/100 | 95/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 100/100 | 100/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Ella is recorded with a Germanic, diminutive form origin, while Maia is recorded with a Genuinely multiple, independent origins — Maori, Greek/Roman mythology, and Estonian/Basque origin.
- Ella has 2 syllables, compared with 1 for Maia.
- Ella's recorded meaning differs from Maia's — see the table above for each.
- Both names have recorded usage in GB-ENW, GB-NIR, GB-SCT, IE, NO, NZ.
How each name got here
Ella
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #137 among girls in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1993–2023
Highest recorded position: #1 among girls in New Zealand, in 2007 (recorded 1993–2023).
New Zealand · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #11 among girls in New South Wales, Australia, in 2025.
New South Wales, Australia · Girls
Maia
Popularity journey
First recorded1979
First recorded at #584 among girls in Norway in 1979 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1999–2023
Highest recorded position: #15 among girls in New Zealand, in 2005 (recorded 1999–2023).
New Zealand · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #131 among girls in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Girls