Maleya
A feminine name of West Indian origin meaning "destiny" or "path".
Name Census estimates that about 536 living Americans carry the first name Maleya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maleya today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maleya births was 2009 (50 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maleya. 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
536
~ 1 in 639,467 Americans
Peak year
2009
50 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,093
Tracked since 1997
Popularity
Maleya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maleya from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 235 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Maleya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maleya 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 Maleya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maleyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Florida, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Maleya, while Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maleya
The name Maleya has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "malaya," which means "mountain range" or "garland." The name is closely associated with the Malay Archipelago, a group of islands in Southeast Asia that includes Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Maleya can be found in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, which is believed to have been composed between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE. In the epic, Maleya is mentioned as the name of a mountain range located in the southern part of the Indian subcontinent.
Throughout history, the name Maleya has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest known figures with this name was Maleya, a Buddhist monk who lived in the 5th century CE and was known for his teachings on mindfulness and meditation.
In the 12th century, there was Maleya of Cordoba, a Spanish-Arabic poet and philosopher who was renowned for her contributions to the literary and intellectual life of the Andalusian region of Spain during the Golden Age of Islamic civilization.
During the 16th century, Maleya was the name of a powerful female ruler of the Majapahit Empire, which was located in what is now modern-day Indonesia. She was known for her diplomatic skills and her efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region.
In more recent times, Maleya was the name of a prominent Indian freedom fighter and activist who lived from 1897 to 1972. She was a leader in the Indian independence movement and worked tirelessly to promote women's rights and social justice.
Another noteworthy individual named Maleya was a Peruvian artist who lived from 1923 to 2001. She was known for her vibrant and colorful paintings that depicted the landscapes and culture of her native Peru.
People
Maleya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maleya 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
Maleya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maleya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 536 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maleya 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 639,467 US residents.
Is Maleya a common name?
We classify Maleya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 541 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maleya most popular?
The single biggest year for Maleya was 2009, when 50 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maleya is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maleya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maleya 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.