The Roman name for the May Queen was "Maia", her name was thought to be derived from maius, maior , "larger, greater" signifying growth. She was explicitly identified with Terra (Earth) and the Bona Dea. Her identity became theologically intertwined also with the goddesses Fauna, Magna Mater, Ops, Juno, and Carna, probably under the influence of the 1st-century BCE scholar Varro, who tended to resolve a great number of goddesses into one original Mother Earth. In the late Imperial era, the neoplatonist author Macrobius identifies the universal earth-goddess as Maia, Terra, Magna Mater, Ops, Bona Dea, Fauna and Fatua. The Romans celebrated the earth-goddess as Bona Dea on the 1st of May at her Aventine temple. When the Romans converted to Christianity, May became the month the Virgin Mary, and she is called "Queen of the May". Invocation to the May Queen  May Queen, almighty and divine,  Come, blessed maiden, and to these rites incline, ...

May is named after the a ncient Italic goddess of spring, Maia. She was identified with Terra and Bona Dea by the late antiquarian writer Macrobius. He also associated her with Fauna, Cybele, Ops, Juno, and Carna. This treatment of the goddess was probably influenced by the 1st century BCE scholar Varro, who tended to resolve a great number of deities into one archetypal Mother Earth. On the first day of May, observed in the lunar calendar with the first appearance of the crescent moon, ancestor spirits were honoured and a pregnant sow was sacrificed to Maia. On the full moon, Maia's son , Mercury, was honoured as patron god of merchants.  According to Greek mythology, Maia was the eldest of seven sisters , the Pleiades. Hers is the fourth brightest star in the Pleiades cluster , also known as the Maia Nebula, which is part of the constellation Taurus. " Maia of the lively eyes: Atlas fathered her, outstanding in beauty, among his seven dear violet-haired daughters w...