Malajah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "place of refuge".
Name Census estimates that about 232 living Americans carry the first name Malajah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Malajah today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Malajah births was 2012 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Malajah. 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
232
~ 1 in 1,477,389 Americans
Peak year
2012
25 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2021 SSA rank
#16,789
Tracked since 1998
Census
Malajah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 171 people with the first name Malajah, which placed it at #42,203 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
#42,203
National first-name rank
People counted
171
171 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Malajah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Malajah is Black at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Malajah 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 Malajah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.6% · 160
- Two or more races4.7% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 3
Popularity
Malajah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Malajah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 114 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Malajah 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 Malajah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Malajahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Malajah
The name Malajah is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which was widely used in ancient India and parts of South Asia. It is thought to be a combination of two Sanskrit words, "mala" meaning "garland" or "wreath," and "jah" meaning "to be born" or "to arise." Thus, the name Malajah can be interpreted as "one who is born with a garland" or "one who arises like a garland."
This name has its roots in Hindu mythology and culture, where garlands hold significant symbolic value. They are often used in religious ceremonies and rituals, representing purity, beauty, and divinity. The name Malajah may have been bestowed upon children with the hope that they would embody these virtues and bring joy and radiance to their families, much like a fragrant garland adorns and enhances its surroundings.
While the exact origins of the name Malajah are shrouded in the mists of time, it is believed to have been in use for centuries in various parts of the Indian subcontinent. Historical records and ancient texts, however, do not provide many concrete examples of individuals bearing this name.
One of the earliest known references to the name Malajah can be found in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, where it is mentioned as the name of a minor character, a celestial nymph or apsara. This literary reference, though brief, suggests that the name has been in existence for at least a couple of millennia.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Malajah, though their stories and legacies are not widely documented. One such person was Malajah Devi, a Hindu mystic and spiritual teacher who lived in the 16th century in the region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. She is said to have been revered for her wisdom and devotion to the Divine.
Another historical figure with the name Malajah was a warrior and chieftain from the Mauryan Empire, who lived in the 3rd century BCE. He was known for his bravery and leadership skills in battles against neighboring kingdoms.
In the 18th century, there was a renowned poet and scholar named Malajah Pandit, who hailed from the state of Rajasthan in India. His works, though not widely circulated, were highly regarded by his contemporaries for their depth and eloquence.
During the British colonial era in India, a woman named Malajah Begum gained recognition for her philanthropic efforts and advocacy for women's education. She established several schools and institutions to promote literacy and empower girls and women in her community.
While these are just a few examples, the name Malajah has undoubtedly been borne by countless individuals throughout history, each leaving their own unique imprint on the world around them.
People
Malajah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Malajah 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
Malajah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Malajah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 232 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Malajah 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 1,477,389 US residents.
Is Malajah a common name?
We classify Malajah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 235 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Malajah most popular?
The single biggest year for Malajah was 2012, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Malajah is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Malajah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 171 people with the name Malajah, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,203 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 Malajah 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 Malajah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Malajah leans strongly female. 173 people counted with this name were female (97.7%), compared with 4 male bearers (2.3%). 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 Malajah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Malajah is Black at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Malajah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Malajah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (160 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 Malajah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Malajah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Malajah 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 Malajah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Malajah 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 Malajah 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 Americans are named Malajah?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.