The word 'Maya' was originally from the sailing diary of Columbus, which resulted from an embarrassing misunderstanding. On his last sailing to America, Columbus found a delicate pottery bowl which, as he was told by the local merchant, was from Maya. But actually it was just a city-state of Maya called Mayapán. However, the name Maya had already been widely acknowledged, therefore the whole area was called Maya.
The word "Maya" comes from the journal of Columbus , which originated from an embarrassing misapprehension. When Columbo made a last voyage to America, he saw a fine pottery basin, which the local merchant told him was from Maya, which, in fact, was only one of the Mayan city-states, but the name"Mayapan" has been widely circulated. Since then, the whole region has been called Maya.