Meilech
A diminutive form of the Hebrew name Malachi, meaning "my messenger".
Name Census estimates that about 292 living Americans carry the first name Meilech. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Meilech today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meilech births was 2023 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meilech. 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
292
~ 1 in 1,173,816 Americans
Peak year
2023
26 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,382
Tracked since 1995
Popularity
Meilech: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meilech from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 133 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Meilech remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meilech 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 Meilech during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Meilechs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Meilech
The name Meilech is a variant of the Hebrew name Malachi, which means "my messenger" or "my angel." It has its origins in the biblical book of Malachi, one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. The name first appears in the Old Testament, where it refers to a prophet whose writings are included in the final book of the Neviim (Prophets) section of the Hebrew Bible.
Malachi was a Jewish prophet who lived in the 5th century BCE during the Persian period. His name is not a personal name but a title, similar to other biblical prophets like Isaiah or Jeremiah. The book of Malachi is a collection of his prophecies and teachings, which focus on the themes of social justice, moral behavior, and the coming of a messenger who will prepare the way for the Messiah.
The name Meilech is a Yiddish variation of Malachi, which became popular among Ashkenazi Jews in Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages. It was particularly common in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Meilech is found in the 16th-century Polish Jewish community.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Meilech. One of the most prominent was Meilech Epstein (1550-1619), a renowned Polish-Jewish scholar and Talmudist who authored several influential works on Jewish law and ethics. Another notable Meilech was Meilech Ravitch (1892-1976), a famous Yiddish poet, and playwright who was a leading figure in the Yiddish literary world of the early 20th century.
Other historical figures named Meilech include Meilech Pekeris (1898-1978), a Ukrainian-born American mathematician and geophysicist known for his contributions to the study of the Earth's interior; Meilech Saphir (1824-1893), a Russian-born Hebrew satirist and writer; and Meilech Belitski (1903-1951), a Soviet-Jewish painter and artist who played a significant role in the development of Belarusian art.
While the name Meilech has its roots in ancient Hebrew texts, it has been primarily associated with Ashkenazi Jewish communities over the centuries. Its enduring popularity among Jews of Eastern European descent has ensured that the name and its variants remain a part of the cultural and linguistic heritage of the Jewish diaspora.
People
Meilech + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meilech 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
Meilech: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meilech?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 292 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meilech 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 1,173,816 US residents.
Is Meilech a common name?
We classify Meilech as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 294 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meilech most popular?
The single biggest year for Meilech was 2023, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meilech is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Meilech a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meilech in the SSA data are male. 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.