Malaia
A feminine name of African origin meaning "fortune" or "wealth".
Name Census estimates that about 391 living Americans carry the first name Malaia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Malaia today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Malaia births was 2021 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Malaia. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Malaia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
391
~ 1 in 876,610 Americans
Peak year
2021
40 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,084
Tracked since 1997
Census
Malaia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 232 people with the first name Malaia, which placed it at #34,960 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
#34,960
National first-name rank
People counted
232
232 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
45.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Malaia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Malaia is Black at 45.7%. The next largest groups are White (22.8%) and Hispanic (13.8%). 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 Malaia 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 Malaia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American45.7% · 106
- White22.8% · 53
- Hispanic or Latino13.8% · 32
- Two or more races11.6% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 4
Popularity
Malaia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Malaia from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 159 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
Malaia 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 Malaia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Malaias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Malaia, while Florida, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Malaia
The name Malaia is believed to have its origins in the Polynesian languages, particularly those spoken in the Pacific Islands. It is thought to be derived from the Proto-Polynesian word "malaia," which means "peaceful" or "tranquil." This name was likely first used by the indigenous inhabitants of the Polynesian islands during the ancient era, potentially as early as the 3rd century AD.
In the traditional Polynesian cultures, names were often chosen to reflect desired qualities or characteristics for a child, and the name Malaia would have been bestowed upon a newborn with the hope that they would lead a peaceful and serene life. The name's connection to the concept of tranquility may also have been influenced by the natural beauty and peaceful surroundings of the Polynesian islands.
While there are no definitive records of the name's earliest appearances, it is possible that it was mentioned in oral traditions, chants, or songs passed down through generations in the Polynesian cultures. However, the earliest written records of the name may have come from European explorers and missionaries who encountered the Polynesian peoples during their voyages to the Pacific in the 16th and 17th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Malaia was a Tahitian woman who lived in the late 18th century. She was known for her role in welcoming and assisting the famous explorer Captain James Cook and his crew during their visits to the Society Islands in the 1770s.
Another notable figure was Malaia Tui, a Samoan chief who lived in the early 19th century. He was renowned for his leadership and efforts to preserve the traditional Samoan way of life during a period of increasing Western influence in the region.
In the 20th century, Malaia Fotumalava was a prominent Tongan artist and educator who helped revive and promote traditional Tongan arts and crafts. She was born in 1912 and played a significant role in preserving and passing on cultural knowledge to younger generations.
Malaia Ioane was a Samoan writer and poet who lived from 1922 to 2008. She was celebrated for her works that explored themes of identity, culture, and the Samoan experience, and her poetry was widely acclaimed both in Samoa and internationally.
Lastly, Malaia Lauaki was a influential Samoan politician and leader who served as the Prime Minister of Samoa from 1987 to 1988. Born in 1931, she was a prominent figure in the Samoan independence movement and worked tirelessly to promote the rights and well-being of her people.
People
Malaia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Malaia 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
Malaia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Malaia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 391 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Malaia 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 876,610 US residents.
Is Malaia a common name?
We classify Malaia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 394 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Malaia most popular?
The single biggest year for Malaia was 2021, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Malaia is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Malaia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 232 people with the name Malaia, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,960 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 Malaia 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 Malaia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Malaia appears almost entirely female. Of the 238 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Malaia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Malaia is Black at 45.7%. The next largest groups are White (22.8%) and Hispanic (13.8%). 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 Malaia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Malaia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.7% (106 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 Malaia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Malaia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Malaia 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 Malaia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Malaia 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 Malaia 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 many people share the name Malaia?
Find out how many people share the name Malaia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.