Maia Doula: The Name

My own name, Clementine, rhymes with ‘Josephine’ or ‘tangerine.’ It’s the English pronunciation, which my English parents didn’t quite think about when they were naming their newly American daughter. I knew I wanted a separate name for my doula practice, and after months of consideration, the name Maia dropped into my mind out of nowhere. Since I am always interested in the meaning of names, I looked it up, and found that across several languages and cultures, Maia has beautiful meanings that complemented the nature of my work.

Here are a few…

Greek: Great, Mother, Nurse, Midwife

Hebrew: Close to God

Māori: Brave, Confident

Latin: She Who Brings Increase

What a beautiful set of qualities for women working in and living through birth! These meanings reflect my own view of birth as a great, sacred undertaking, and hopefully inspire my clients as well.

Warmly,

Clementine