Malori
A feminine name with debated origins, potentially French meaning "unfortunate".
Name Census estimates that about 727 living Americans carry the first name Malori. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Malori today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Malori births was 1987 (57 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Malori. 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
727
~ 1 in 471,464 Americans
Peak year
1987
57 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2021 SSA rank
#10,797
Tracked since 1983
Census
Malori in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 646 people with the first name Malori, which placed it at #17,193 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
#17,193
National first-name rank
People counted
646
646 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Malori
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Malori is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Black (6.5%). 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 Malori 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 Malori at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.6% · 514
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 47
- Black or African American6.5% · 42
- Two or more races4.5% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 3
Popularity
Malori: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Malori from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 258 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Malori 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 Malori during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maloris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, Alabama recorded the most babies named Malori, while Louisiana, Alabama, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Malori
The name Malori is believed to have originated from the Old French language during the Middle Ages. It is likely derived from the Latin word "malus," meaning "evil" or "bad," combined with the suffix "-ori," which was commonly used to form feminine names. This suggests that Malori may have initially been used as a diminutive or affectionate form of a name with a more negative connotation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Malori can be found in the 14th-century French epic poem "Le Roman de la Rose," where it is mentioned as the name of a character. This literary reference indicates that the name was in use among the French nobility and upper classes during that time period.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Malori de Champagne was a French noblewoman and courtier at the court of King Charles VII. She is mentioned in historical records as a prominent figure in the royal court, suggesting that the name had gained popularity among the aristocracy.
During the Renaissance period, Malori Bianchi was an Italian painter and sculptor active in the 16th century. Born in Florence around 1510, she is known for her religious works and contributions to the Mannerist style of art.
Another historical figure bearing the name Malori was Malori de Montalembert, a French military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. He was born in 1785 and served under Napoleon Bonaparte, distinguishing himself in several campaigns.
In the 20th century, Malori Granger was a British writer and poet born in 1912. She published several collections of poetry and was known for her lyrical and introspective works, earning critical acclaim during her lifetime.
While the name Malori has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, these examples demonstrate its presence across various cultures and time periods, particularly in French, Italian, and British contexts. The name's origins and evolution reflect the influence of language, literature, and historical events on the development and usage of personal names.
People
Malori + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Malori 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
Malori: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Malori?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 727 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Malori 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 471,464 US residents.
Is Malori a common name?
We classify Malori as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 751 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Malori most popular?
The single biggest year for Malori was 1987, when 57 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Malori is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Malori in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 646 people with the name Malori, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,193 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 Malori 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 Malori?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Malori appears almost entirely female. Of the 639 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 Malori?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Malori is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Black (6.5%). 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 Malori most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Malori in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.6% (514 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 Malori in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Malori a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Malori 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 Malori still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Malori 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 Malori 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 have the name Malori?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.