Maleni
A feminine name with unknown origin, possibly meaning "little one".
Name Census estimates that about 886 living Americans carry the first name Maleni. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maleni today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maleni births was 2019 (174 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maleni. 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
886
~ 1 in 386,856 Americans
Peak year
2019
174 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,143
Tracked since 1991
Popularity
Maleni: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maleni 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 426 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
Maleni 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 Maleni during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Malenis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. California, Texas, Arizona recorded the most babies named Maleni, while North Carolina, Washington, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 43 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maleni
The name Maleni is of South Slavic origin, derived from the root "mal" which means "small" or "little" in several Slavic languages. It is believed to have originated in the Balkans during the medieval period, particularly in regions such as Serbia, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Maleni can be found in the 12th-century Serbian epic poem, "The Mountain Wreath," where it is mentioned as a character's name. This suggests that the name was in use among Slavic populations in the Balkan region during that time.
Maleni was also a relatively common name among the nobility and royalty of medieval Serbia. One notable figure bearing this name was Maleni Branković, a 14th-century Serbian princess who married the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos IV Palaiologos.
In the 15th century, a Bosnian Franciscan friar named Maleni Radojević gained recognition for his writings on theology and philosophy. His works provide insight into the intellectual and religious landscape of the period in the Balkans.
Another historical figure with the name Maleni was Maleni Kostić, a 19th-century Serbian painter and art teacher who played a significant role in the development of Serbian realist painting. He was born in 1839 and died in 1905.
In the 20th century, Maleni Trajković, a Serbian actor and theatre director, made notable contributions to the performing arts. He was born in 1908 and passed away in 1983, leaving behind a legacy in the Serbian theatre scene.
While the name Maleni is of Slavic origin, it has also been adopted and used in other cultures and regions over time. However, its historical roots and earliest recorded instances can be traced back to the Balkans, particularly in Serbia, Bosnia, and North Macedonia, where it holds cultural significance.
People
Maleni + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maleni 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
Maleni: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maleni?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 886 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maleni 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 386,856 US residents.
Is Maleni a common name?
We classify Maleni as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 895 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maleni most popular?
The single biggest year for Maleni was 2019, when 174 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maleni is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maleni a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maleni 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.
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.