Malisha
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "beautiful woman".
Name Census estimates that about 599 living Americans carry the first name Malisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Malisha today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Malisha births was 1981 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Malisha. 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 Malisha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
599
~ 1 in 572,211 Americans
Peak year
1981
43 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,734
Tracked since 1964
Census
Malisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 567 people with the first name Malisha, which placed it at #18,871 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
#18,871
National first-name rank
People counted
567
567 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
56.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Malisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Malisha is Black at 56.4%. The next largest groups are White (21.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.5%). 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 Malisha 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 Malisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American56.4% · 320
- White21.5% · 122
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.5% · 48
- Two or more races6.3% · 36
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 12
Popularity
Malisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Malisha from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 181 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Malisha 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 Malisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Malishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Florida, Illinois recorded the most babies named Malisha, while Illinois, Florida, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Malisha
The name Malisha finds its roots in the Slavic languages, originating from the proto-Slavic word "malishka," which means "little one" or "little girl." This term of endearment was commonly used in various Slavic cultures during the medieval period, particularly in the regions of modern-day Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
In the 12th century, the name Malisha began to appear in historical records, primarily in the form of Malisha or Malysha. It was often given to young girls born into noble families or those of peasant origin. The name's diminutive nature reflected a sense of affection and adoration for the child.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Malisha can be found in the chronicles of the Kievan Rus', where a noblewoman named Malisha Svyatoslavovna, born around 1135, was mentioned as the daughter of Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich. Her name was documented in various manuscripts detailing the political and social events of that era.
During the 15th century, the name Malisha gained popularity among the Cossack communities in the Zaporozhian Sich, a semi-autonomous Cossack territory located in present-day Ukraine. Malisha Kuzmenko, born in 1472, was a renowned Cossack warrior and leader who fought against the Tatar invasions that plagued the region at the time.
In the 16th century, the name Malisha was also found in the records of the Muscovite Tsardom, where Malisha Naryshkina, born in 1541, was a member of the influential Naryshkin family and played a prominent role in the court of Tsar Alexis I.
Another notable figure bearing the name Malisha was Malisha Petrovna, born in 1687, a Russian noblewoman and courtier during the reign of Peter the Great. She was known for her involvement in various cultural and literary circles of the time.
During the 19th century, Malisha Gorky, born in 1868, was a renowned Russian writer and activist who advocated for social reforms and workers' rights. Her literary works, such as "The Mother" and "My Childhood," were influential in shaping the literary landscape of the era.
These examples illustrate the historical significance and usage of the name Malisha across various Slavic cultures and time periods, with its roots tracing back to the endearing term "malishka" and its association with prominent figures in various fields throughout the centuries.
People
Malisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Malisha 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
Malisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Malisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 599 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Malisha 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 572,211 US residents.
Is Malisha a common name?
We classify Malisha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 637 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Malisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Malisha was 1981, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Malisha is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Malisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 567 people with the name Malisha, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,871 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 Malisha 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 Malisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Malisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 564 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Malisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Malisha is Black at 56.4%. The next largest groups are White (21.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.5%). 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 Malisha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Malisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.4% (320 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 Malisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Malisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Malisha 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 Malisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Malisha 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 Malisha 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 Malisha?
Want to know how many people have the name Malisha? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.