What popularized the baby name Mya in the late 1990s?

Mononymous R&B singer Mýa (pronounced MIE-uh) became famous in the late 1990s, when her songs started popping up on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart:

• “It’s All About Me” (with Sisqó) peaked at #6 in May of 1998
• “Ghetto Supastar” (with Pras Michel and Ol’ Dirty Bastard) peaked at #15 in August of 1998
• “Movin’ On” (with Silkk The Shocker) peaked at #34 in September of 1998
• “Take Me There” (with Blackstreet, Mase, and Blinky Blink) peaked at #14 in January of 1999
• “My First Night With You” peaked at #28 in April of 1999

Mýa sang the hook on “Ghetto Supastar,” which has been described as “the most deliriously irresistible song of the summer of ’98.” The single became a worldwide hit, and was nominated for a Grammy Award (for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group) in early 1999.

As a result of Mýa’s success, the baby name Mya — amid the ongoing rise of the like-sounding name Maya — saw a swift increase in usage during the last two years of the century. In fact, Mya’s rise seems to have accelerated Maya’s rise in 1998 specifically.

	Girls named Mya	Girls named Maya
2000	1,839 [rank: 175th]	3,019 [rank: 113th]
1999	1,885 [rank: 166th]	2854 [rank: 113th]
1998	1,284 [rank: 238th]	2685 [rank: 123rd]
1997	196 [rank: 995th]	1675 [rank: 182nd]
1996	151	1,445 [rank: 201st]

But the influence doesn’t end there. A number of names ending in “-mya” also saw higher usage during those years. (The same can be said for names ending in “-maya,” such as Amaya, Jamaya, and Tamaya.)

	1997	1998	1999
Amya	10	42	168
Jamya	13	76	163
Shamya	22	60	131
Tamya	14	74	127
Kamya	10	21	57
Lamya	8	20	51
Ramya	18	24	38
Samya	7	22	32

Dozens of other “-mya” and “-myah” names (like Damya, Zamya, Camya, and Amyah) appeared for the very first time in the U.S. baby name data during the late 1990s.

Mýa was born Mya Marie Harrison in Washington, D.C., in 1979. Curiously, she was more interested in dancing than in singing as a child. She even studied under tap dancer Savion Glover for a time.

What are your thoughts on the name Mya? Do you like this spelling, or do you prefer Maya?

P.S. Intriguingly, the rise of Mia (pronounced MEE-uh) — which went on to become a top-10 girl name — slowed down in the late 1990s. Did Mya steal some of Mia’s thunder, I wonder…?

Sources:

• Mýa (singer) – Wikipedia
• Mya – Billboard
• “The 98 Greatest Songs of 1998: Critics’ Picks.” Billboard.com 29 May 2018.
• SSA