Maelys
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly from the Old French word maille meaning "majestic".
Name Census estimates that about 202 living Americans carry the first name Maelys. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maelys today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maelys births was 2024 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maelys. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
202
~ 1 in 1,696,804 Americans
Peak year
2024
31 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,519
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Maelys: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maelys from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 97 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maelys by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Maelys during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maelys' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Maelys
The name Maelys is a variant of the French name Maëlys, which is derived from the Breton name Maëliss. The Breton language is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany, a cultural region in the northwest of France.
The name Maelys is thought to have originated from the Old Breton words "mael" meaning "prince" or "chief" and "lez" meaning "beneficent" or "kind." Together, the name Maelys can be interpreted to mean "kind prince" or "benevolent leader."
The name Maelys has been recorded in Breton literature and historical texts dating back to the Middle Ages. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Maelys de la Bruyère, a 13th-century Breton noble and military leader who fought against the French monarchy during the Breton War of Succession.
In the 15th century, there was a famous Breton rebel named Maelys Gwiziern, also known as the "Shepherd King," who led an uprising against the Duke of Brittany. Although his rebellion was ultimately crushed, Maelys Gwiziern's story has been immortalized in Breton folklore and literature.
Another notable figure in history with the name Maelys was Maelys Wiet, a 16th-century Breton poet and scholar who made significant contributions to the preservation and promotion of the Breton language and culture.
In the 19th century, there was a French artist named Maelys Pelletier who was known for her landscape paintings and portraiture. She was born in 1837 and lived until 1914.
More recently, Maelys van der Velde was a Dutch actress and model who appeared in several films and television shows in the late 20th century. She was born in 1961 and passed away in 2022.
While the name Maelys has its roots in the Breton language and culture, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in French-speaking regions, due to its unique and melodic sound.
People
Maelys + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maelys as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Maelys: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maelys?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 202 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maelys going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,696,804 US residents.
Is Maelys a common name?
We classify Maelys as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 203 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maelys most popular?
The single biggest year for Maelys was 2024, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maelys is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maelys a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maelys in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.