Malora
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly derived from "amor" meaning love.
Name Census estimates that about 17 living Americans carry the first name Malora. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Malora today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Malora births was 1955 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Malora. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Malora. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
17
~ 1 in 20,162,020 Americans
Peak year
1955
5 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2005 SSA rank
#18,164
Tracked since 1955
Census
Malora in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 109 people with the first name Malora, which placed it at #52,143 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
#52,143
National first-name rank
People counted
109
109 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Malora
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Malora is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (12.8%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Malora 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 Malora at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.5% · 79
- Black or African American12.8% · 14
- Two or more races6.4% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Popularity
Malora: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Malora from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 10 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Malora remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Malora 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 Malora 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 Malora
The name Malora has its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known written languages in the world, dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE. It is believed to be derived from the Sumerian words "ma" meaning "great" or "exalted" and "lora" meaning "light" or "radiance." Thus, the name Malora can be interpreted as "Great Light" or "Exalted Radiance."
Sumerian culture flourished in the region of Mesopotamia, which is modern-day Iraq, and the name Malora was likely first used among the Sumerian people. It is possible that the name was associated with deities or celestial bodies, given its connection to light and radiance.
Records of the name Malora are scarce in ancient texts and historical documents, as it was not a widely used name in those times. However, there are a few notable individuals who bore this name throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Malora dates back to the 6th century BCE, where a Babylonian priestess was known by this name. She was said to have served in the temple of the goddess Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of love, beauty, and fertility.
In the 1st century CE, a Roman noblewoman named Malora is mentioned in the writings of the historian Tacitus. She was reportedly involved in a conspiracy against the Emperor Nero, though details of her role and fate remain unclear.
During the Middle Ages, a French noblewoman named Malora de Châtillon (c. 1180 - 1249) was known for her patronage of the arts and literature. She was a prominent figure in the courts of King Philip II of France and his son, Louis VIII.
In the 16th century, a Spanish woman named Malora de Mendoza (1525 - 1598) gained recognition for her skills in poetry and philosophy. She was part of a literary circle in Seville and corresponded with notable figures of her time, including the poet Fernando de Herrera.
In the 19th century, an Italian painter named Malora Genovese (1825 - 1892) achieved recognition for her portraits and genre paintings. She was a member of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli and her works were exhibited in various galleries across Italy.
While the name Malora has remained relatively rare throughout history, these examples showcase its presence across different cultures and time periods, though its usage has been limited compared to more common names.
People
Malora + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Malora 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
Malora: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Malora?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Malora 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 20,162,020 US residents.
Is Malora a common name?
We classify Malora as "Very Rare". It ranks above 37.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 20 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Malora most popular?
The single biggest year for Malora was 1955, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Malora is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Malora in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 109 people with the name Malora, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,143 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 Malora 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 Malora?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Malora appears almost entirely female. Of the 104 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Malora?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Malora is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (12.8%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Malora most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Malora in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.5% (79 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 Malora in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Malora a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Malora 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 Malora still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Malora 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 Malora 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 people are named Malora?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.