Malachia
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "messenger of God".
Name Census estimates that about 30 living Americans carry the first name Malachia. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 64.5% of registrations being female. The average person named Malachia today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Malachia births was 2009 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Malachia. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Malachia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
30
~ 1 in 11,425,145 Americans
Peak year
2009
6 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2009 SSA rank
#11,920
Tracked since 1992
Census
Malachia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 126 people with the first name Malachia, which placed it at #49,344 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#49,344
National first-name rank
People counted
126
126 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
68.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Malachia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Malachia is Black at 68.3%. The next largest groups are White (16.7%) and Hispanic (9.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Malachia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Malachia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American68.3% · 86
- White16.7% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino9.5% · 12
- Two or more races5.6% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Malachia
Malachia is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 31 total registrations, 11 (35.5%) were male and 20 (64.5%) were female.
Malachia as a male name
- Ranked #11,920 in 2009
- 6 male births in 2009
- Peak: 2009 (6 births)
Malachia as a female name
- Ranked #17,110 in 2002
- 5 female births in 2002
- Peak: 1992 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Malachia on both sides of the split. Of the 126 people counted with this name, 75 were male (59.5%) and 51 were female (40.5%).
Popularity
Malachia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Malachia from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 16 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
Malachia 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 Malachia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Malachia
The name Malachia has its roots in the Hebrew language, deriving from the biblical name Malachi, which means "messenger of God" or "my messenger." It is a variant spelling of the more common English form, Malachi. The name can be traced back to ancient times, with its earliest recorded use found in the Old Testament of the Bible, where it refers to the last book of the prophetic writings.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing this name is Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, who lived in the 5th century BC. His prophetic book, often considered the last word of the Old Testament, emphasizes the importance of obedience to God's laws and the coming of a messenger to prepare the way for the Messiah.
During the Middle Ages, the name Malachia gained popularity among Christian communities, particularly in Italy and other parts of Europe. It was often used as a variant of the more common Malachi, and several notable individuals bore this name.
One such individual was Malachia, an Italian monk and mystic, who lived in the 12th century. He is best known for his work titled "Prophecy of the Popes," which allegedly predicted the names and characteristics of future popes.
Another notable figure was Malachia of Armagh, an Irish cleric and saint who lived in the 12th century. He served as the Archbishop of Armagh and is venerated as a patron saint of the Irish Franciscan Order.
In the 15th century, Malachia Stramazzo was an Italian Renaissance painter and architect, known for his works in Perugia and Foligno.
During the 16th century, Malachia Inguanez was a prominent Maltese philosopher, theologian, and writer, who made significant contributions to the intellectual life of his time.
While the name Malachia has been relatively uncommon throughout history, it has maintained a presence in various cultures and has been associated with notable individuals, particularly those with religious or scholarly backgrounds. Its biblical origins and connection to the prophetic tradition have contributed to its enduring significance.
People
Malachia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Malachia 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
Malachia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Malachia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 30 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Malachia 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 11,425,145 US residents.
Is Malachia a common name?
We classify Malachia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 31 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Malachia most popular?
The single biggest year for Malachia was 2009, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Malachia is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Malachia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 126 people with the name Malachia, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,344 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Malachia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Malachia?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Malachia on both sides of the split. Of the 126 people counted with this name, 75 were male (59.5%) and 51 were female (40.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Malachia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Malachia is Black at 68.3%. The next largest groups are White (16.7%) and Hispanic (9.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Malachia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Malachia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.3% (86 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Malachia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Malachia a female name?
Yes, 64.5% of people registered as Malachia 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.
Is Malachia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Malachia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Malachia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How common is the name Malachia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.