Malaiah
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a combination of Hebrew roots.
Name Census estimates that about 219 living Americans carry the first name Malaiah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Malaiah today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Malaiah births was 2015 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Malaiah. 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
219
~ 1 in 1,565,088 Americans
Peak year
2015
18 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,728
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Malaiah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Malaiah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 126 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Malaiah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Malaiah 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 Malaiah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Malaiahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Malaiah
The name Malaiah is believed to have its origins in the Hebrew language, derived from the combination of two Hebrew words: "mal'ak," meaning "messenger," and "Yah," a shortened form of the name "Yahweh," the Hebrew name for God. This suggests that the name Malaiah carries the meaning "messenger of God" or "God's messenger."
The earliest recorded use of the name Malaiah can be traced back to the Bible, where it appears in the Book of Nehemiah as the name of one of the priests who returned to Jerusalem from Babylon after the Babylonian exile. This biblical reference dates back to around the 5th century BCE, indicating the antiquity of the name.
Throughout history, there have been notable individuals who bore the name Malaiah. One such figure was Malaiah, a Jewish scholar and author who lived in the 12th century CE in Spain. He is known for his work on Hebrew grammar and linguistics, contributing significantly to the study of the Hebrew language during that era.
Another prominent individual with the name Malaiah was Malaiah ben Hakim, a 12th-century Jewish philosopher and rabbi who resided in Yemen. He was renowned for his writings on Jewish law and philosophy, leaving a lasting impact on the intellectual traditions of Yemenite Jewry.
In the realm of literature, Malaiah Loth was a notable 19th-century German author and poet. Born in 1819, he gained recognition for his works that explored themes of identity, culture, and the human experience.
Malaiah Ubayd, born in 1897 in Yemen, was a prominent figure in the Yemenite Jewish community. He played a crucial role in preserving and promoting the cultural heritage and traditions of Yemenite Jews, making significant contributions to the preservation of their unique customs and practices.
While the name Malaiah may not be as common today as it once was, its historical roots and religious connotations have left an indelible mark on various cultures and traditions throughout the ages.
People
Malaiah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Malaiah 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
Malaiah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Malaiah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 219 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Malaiah 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 1,565,088 US residents.
Is Malaiah a common name?
We classify Malaiah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 221 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Malaiah most popular?
The single biggest year for Malaiah was 2015, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Malaiah is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Malaiah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Malaiah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Malaiah 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 Malaiah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Malaiah 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 Malaiah 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Malaiah as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Malaiah, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.