Find out how popular the first name Maliyani has been for the last 6 years (from 2010 to 2015) and learn more about the meaning and history.

Popularity of Maliyani by gender

Based on the last 6 years of data, Maliyani is exclusively a female name.

For the most recent data in 2015, there were 7 female babies and 0 male babies born with the name Maliyani.

The history of the first name Maliyani

The name Maliyani is believed to have originated from the Tamil language spoken in southern India and parts of Sri Lanka. It is a feminine name that can be traced back to the medieval period, around the 9th to 12th century CE.

One theory suggests that Maliyani is derived from the Tamil words "mali," meaning jasmine flower, and "ani," meaning beautiful or graceful. This would make the name roughly translate to "beautiful jasmine" or "graceful jasmine flower." The jasmine flower holds significant cultural and symbolic importance in South Asian traditions, often associated with purity, beauty, and divine femininity.

Another possible origin of the name Maliyani is that it may be a variation of the Sanskrit name "Malini," which also has roots in the word for jasmine flower. Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language, has influenced many South Asian languages, including Tamil, over the centuries.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Maliyani can be found in ancient Tamil literature and inscriptions from the Chola and Pandyan dynasties that ruled parts of present-day Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka between the 9th and 13th centuries CE. Some notable historical figures who bore the name Maliyani include:

1. Maliyani Amma (circa 1050 CE), a revered Tamil poet and saint who composed devotional hymns dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva.

2. Maliyani Devi (1175 - 1245 CE), a Pandyan princess and patron of arts and literature, known for her support of Tamil culture and scholarship.

3. Maliyani Bai (1650 - 1720 CE), a renowned Carnatic musician and vocalist from the Tanjore court during the Maratha rule of southern India.

4. Maliyani Govindan (1825 - 1891 CE), a social reformer and educator who established one of the earliest schools for girls in Tamil Nadu during the British colonial era.

5. Maliyani Raghavan (1908 - 1978 CE), a celebrated Tamil writer and journalist who received the Sahitya Akademi Award, India's highest literary honor, for her novel "Maanam" in 1965.

While the name Maliyani has its roots in the Tamil language and culture, it has also been adopted and used in other parts of South Asia, particularly in neighboring regions with cultural and linguistic ties to Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

Data source

The first name data used on this page comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They've been collecting data on baby names since 1880.

The history and meaning of the name Maliyani was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Maliyani, please contact us.

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