Maleia
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "delicate one".
Name Census estimates that about 1,105 living Americans carry the first name Maleia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maleia today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maleia births was 2023 (92 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maleia. 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 Maleia with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Maleia is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 310,185 Americans
Peak year
2023
92 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,542
Tracked since 1956
Census
Maleia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 783 people with the first name Maleia, which placed it at #14,879 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
#14,879
National first-name rank
People counted
783
783 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
42.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maleia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maleia is White at 42.1%. The next largest groups are Black (22.7%) and Two or More Races (14.7%). 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 Maleia 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 Maleia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White42.1% · 330
- Black or African American22.7% · 178
- Two or more races14.7% · 115
- Hispanic or Latino14.2% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 12
Popularity
Maleia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maleia from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 368 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
Maleia 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 Maleia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maleias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Maleia, while Maryland, Ohio, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maleia
The name Maleia is believed to have its origins in ancient Greek culture, with roots that can be traced back to the 5th century BCE. It is thought to be derived from the Greek word "malakos," which means "soft" or "gentle." This suggests that the name may have been given to individuals who were perceived as having a gentle or soft-spoken demeanor.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Maleia can be found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who mentioned a woman named Maleia in his writings around 440 BCE. However, details about this individual are scarce, and it is uncertain whether this was a real person or a fictional character.
In later centuries, the name Maleia appeared in various historical records and texts, although its usage remained relatively rare. One notable individual who bore this name was Maleia of Lesbos, a Greek poet who lived in the 7th century BCE. She is credited with being one of the earliest known female poets in ancient Greek literature, and her works were highly influential in shaping the poetic traditions of her time.
Another significant figure in history with the name Maleia was Maleia of Cyzicus, a philosopher who lived in the 4th century BCE. She was renowned for her contributions to the study of ethics and moral philosophy, and her teachings were widely respected among the intellectual circles of ancient Greece.
In the medieval period, the name Maleia gained some popularity in certain regions of the Byzantine Empire. One notable bearer of this name was Maleia Palaiologina, a Byzantine noblewoman who lived in the 13th century. She was known for her influential role in the political affairs of the Byzantine court and her patronage of the arts and literature.
Fast-forwarding to more recent times, the name Maleia has continued to be used, albeit infrequently. One prominent individual with this name was Maleia Beres, an American author and poet who lived from 1928 to 2016. Her works explored themes of nature, spirituality, and the human experience, and she was widely acclaimed for her unique literary style.
While the name Maleia has never been among the most popular choices, it has maintained a presence throughout history, carried by individuals from various walks of life, including poets, philosophers, noblewomen, and authors. Its rich cultural heritage and unique sound have undoubtedly contributed to its enduring appeal, even if its usage has remained somewhat limited.
People
Maleia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maleia 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
Maleia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maleia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,105 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maleia 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 310,185 US residents.
Is Maleia a common name?
We classify Maleia as "Rare". It ranks above 90.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,127 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maleia most popular?
The single biggest year for Maleia was 2023, when 92 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maleia is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maleia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 783 people with the name Maleia, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,879 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 Maleia 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 Maleia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maleia appears almost entirely female. Of the 785 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Maleia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maleia is White at 42.1%. The next largest groups are Black (22.7%) and Two or More Races (14.7%). 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 Maleia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Maleia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.1% (330 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 Maleia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maleia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maleia 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 Maleia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maleia 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 Maleia 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 Maleia?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Maleia at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.