Mallery
A feminine name of English origin referring to ill-tempered or quarrelsome.
Name Census estimates that about 465 living Americans carry the first name Mallery. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mallery today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mallery births was 1985 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mallery. 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
465
~ 1 in 737,106 Americans
Peak year
1985
38 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2014 SSA rank
#11,586
Tracked since 1983
Popularity
Mallery: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mallery from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 175 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
Mallery 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 Mallery during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mallery
The name Mallery has its origins in the Old French language and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "maleree," which means "misfortune" or "misery." This name was likely given to a child born during difficult times or under unfortunate circumstances.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mallery can be found in the medieval French text "Roman de la Rose," written by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun between 1230 and 1280. In this literary work, the character Mallery is depicted as a personification of misfortune or adversity.
During the Middle Ages, the name Mallery was relatively uncommon but can be found in various historical records and documents across parts of France and England. One notable individual bearing this name was Mallery de Montfort, a French noblewoman who lived in the 13th century.
As the centuries passed, the name Mallery continued to be used, albeit sparingly. In the 16th century, there was a Mallery Dubois, a French playwright and poet born in 1548. His most famous work was a collection of satirical poems titled "Les Malleries."
Moving into the 17th century, we encounter Mallery Baudelaire, a French artist and engraver born in 1612. She was known for her intricate etchings and woodcuts, many of which depicted scenes from classical mythology.
The 19th century saw the birth of Mallery Renoir, a French Impressionist painter born in 1841. Although not as renowned as his contemporaries like Monet and Degas, Renoir's works captured the essence of everyday life in Paris during that era.
It's worth noting that while the name Mallery has been present throughout history, it has never been a particularly common or popular name. Its unique origin and meaning have likely contributed to its relatively rare usage over the centuries.
People
Mallery + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mallery 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
Mallery: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mallery?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 465 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mallery 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 737,106 US residents.
Is Mallery a common name?
We classify Mallery as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 481 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mallery most popular?
The single biggest year for Mallery was 1985, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mallery is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mallery a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mallery 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.