Melaysia
An invented name possibly combining "Mel" (meaning "honey") with "Asia".
Name Census estimates that about 129 living Americans carry the first name Melaysia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Melaysia today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Melaysia births was 2014 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Melaysia. 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
129
~ 1 in 2,657,010 Americans
Peak year
2014
16 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2020 SSA rank
#10,821
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Melaysia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Melaysia 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 73 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Melaysia 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 Melaysia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Melaysias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Melaysia
The name Melaysia has its origins in the ancient Tamil language, spoken by the Dravidian people of southern India and Sri Lanka. It is derived from the Tamil words "melai" meaning "hill" or "mountain" and "ari" meaning "ruler" or "king". The name can be traced back to the 6th century CE and was likely given to those born in the hilly regions of the Tamil kingdoms.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Melaysia can be found in the Tamil epic Silappatikaram, which dates back to the 5th or 6th century CE. The epic mentions a character named Melaysia, who was a wealthy merchant and trader from the ancient Tamil city of Puhar (now known as Kaveri Poompattinam).
In the 7th century CE, a Tamil prince named Melaysia Vijayabahu is recorded as having ruled over parts of what is now Sri Lanka. He was a prominent figure in the struggle against the Chola Empire and is credited with establishing the Kingdom of Ruhuna in southern Sri Lanka.
During the medieval period, the name Melaysia gained popularity among the Tamil communities in South India and Sri Lanka. One notable figure was Melaysia Nayanar, a 9th-century Hindu mystic and saint from the Tamil Nadu region of India. He is revered in the Nayanar tradition of Saivite devotional poetry.
In the 16th century, a Tamil trader and explorer named Melaysia Sekaran is recorded as having traveled to Southeast Asia and established trade routes between the Indian subcontinent and the Malay Archipelago. He is believed to have played a significant role in the spread of Tamil culture and language in the region, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the name in some areas.
Another historical figure with the name Melaysia was Melaysia Durai, a Tamil scholar and poet from the 18th century. He was renowned for his contributions to Tamil literature and his works are still studied today in parts of South India and Sri Lanka.
While the name Melaysia has its roots in the Tamil language and culture, it has also been adopted and adapted by various communities around the world over the centuries. However, it remains a relatively uncommon name, especially in recent times, and its historical significance is primarily tied to its Tamil origins and the people who bore this name in the past.
People
Melaysia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Melaysia 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
Melaysia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Melaysia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 129 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Melaysia 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 2,657,010 US residents.
Is Melaysia a common name?
We classify Melaysia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 130 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Melaysia most popular?
The single biggest year for Melaysia was 2014, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Melaysia is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Melaysia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Melaysia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Melaysia 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 Melaysia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Melaysia 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 Melaysia 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Melaysia?
Want to know how many people have the name Melaysia? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.