Maleeyah
An Arabic feminine name meaning "she who fills" or "plentiful".
Name Census estimates that about 232 living Americans carry the first name Maleeyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maleeyah today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maleeyah births was 2009 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maleeyah. 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
2009
18 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,731
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Maleeyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maleeyah 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 145 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maleeyah 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 Maleeyah 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 Maleeyah
The name Maleeyah is an Arabic name with its origins rooted in the Middle East. It is derived from the Arabic word "maleeha," which means "beautiful" or "graceful." The name first appeared in ancient Arabic texts and manuscripts, dating back to the 7th century AD.
In its earliest recorded use, Maleeyah was a name given to girls born into noble families or those with a connection to royalty. It was believed that the name would bestow upon the child a sense of grace, elegance, and beauty, both in physical appearance and inner character.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Maleeyah can be found in the writings of the famed Arab poet and scholar, Al-Mutanabbi (915-965 AD). In his poetry, he often used the name as a metaphor for the beauty and grace of nature, likening it to the gentle breeze or the radiance of the moon.
Throughout the centuries, the name Maleeyah has been carried by several notable figures in the Arab world. One of the most famous was Maleeyah bint Al-Rashid (790-824 AD), a renowned poet and scholar during the Abbasid Caliphate. Her works were widely celebrated for their depth and insight, and she was considered a master of the Arabic language.
Another notable figure was Maleeyah Al-Andalusiya (1031-1107 AD), a philosopher and mathematician from Spain during the Golden Age of Islamic civilization. She made significant contributions to the fields of astronomy and mathematics, and her writings were widely studied throughout Europe and the Middle East.
In the modern era, one of the most famous bearers of the name was Maleeyah Al-Solh (1858-1936), a prominent Lebanese politician and statesman. She was a key figure in the movement for Lebanese independence and played a pivotal role in shaping the country's political landscape in the early 20th century.
Additionally, Maleeyah Al-Zahrani (1925-2008) was a renowned Saudi Arabian novelist and writer. Her works explored themes of identity, culture, and the role of women in Arab society. She was widely regarded as one of the most influential voices in modern Arabic literature.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals who have carried the name Maleeyah throughout history, a name that has come to symbolize beauty, grace, and cultural significance in the Arab world.
People
Maleeyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maleeyah 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
Maleeyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maleeyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 232 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maleeyah 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 Maleeyah a common name?
We classify Maleeyah 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, 234 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maleeyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Maleeyah was 2009, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maleeyah is about 12 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 Maleeyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maleeyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maleeyah 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 Maleeyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maleeyah 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 Maleeyah 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 Americans are named Maleeyah?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.