Maleny
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly derived from Spanish words meaning "bad vineyard".
Name Census estimates that about 522 living Americans carry the first name Maleny. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maleny today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maleny births was 1993 (58 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maleny. 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
522
~ 1 in 656,618 Americans
Peak year
1993
58 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,800
Tracked since 1991
Census
Maleny in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 521 people with the first name Maleny, which placed it at #19,995 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
#19,995
National first-name rank
People counted
521
521 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
96.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maleny
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maleny is Hispanic at 96.0%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Black (1.2%). 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 Maleny 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 Maleny at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.0% · 500
- White2.7% · 14
- Black or African American1.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Maleny: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maleny from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 176 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Maleny remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maleny 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 Maleny during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Malenys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Maleny
The name Maleny has its origins in the Czech language and culture, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old Czech word "malena," meaning "small" or "little one." The name was initially used as a diminutive or pet name for children, particularly girls.
In the 14th century, the name Maleny was mentioned in several Czech literary works, such as the epic poem "Libušin soud" by Václav Hanka. It was also found in historical records and church documents from various regions of present-day Czech Republic and Slovakia.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Maleny was a noblewoman named Maleny of Rosice, who lived in the late 13th century. She was known for her charitable works and her support for the construction of a local church in the town of Rosice.
In the 16th century, Maleny Komenský (1592-1670) was a prominent Czech educator and philosopher. He is best known for his innovative teaching methods and his advocacy for universal education. His works, such as "Didactica Magna" and "Orbis Pictus," had a significant influence on the field of education.
Another notable figure was Maleny Novotná (1904-1976), a Czech tennis player who won multiple Grand Slam titles in the 1920s and 1930s. She was one of the dominant players of her era and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1986.
During the 19th century, the name Maleny gained popularity among Czech immigrants who settled in various parts of the United States. One such individual was Maleny Beneš (1868-1948), a Czech-American educator and author who wrote several books on Czech language and culture.
In the 20th century, Maleny Maxová (1923-2012) was a renowned Czech actress and singer. She appeared in numerous films and theatrical productions and was widely celebrated for her talent and stage presence.
While the name Maleny has Czech roots, it has also been adopted in various other cultures and languages over time, with slight variations in spelling and pronunciation. However, its origins can be traced back to the Czech language and its meaning of "small" or "little one."
People
Maleny + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maleny 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
Maleny: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maleny?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 522 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maleny 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 656,618 US residents.
Is Maleny a common name?
We classify Maleny as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 531 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maleny most popular?
The single biggest year for Maleny was 1993, when 58 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maleny is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maleny in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 521 people with the name Maleny, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,995 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 Maleny 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 Maleny?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maleny appears almost entirely female. Of the 527 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Maleny?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maleny is Hispanic at 96.0%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Black (1.2%). 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 Maleny most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Maleny in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.0% (500 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 Maleny in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maleny a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maleny 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 Maleny still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maleny 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 Maleny 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 Maleny?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.