Girl's name
Malia
Say it muh-LEE-uh
Hawaiian origin 3 syllables
Where Malia is loved, common and rare
Common across four German cities, Switzerland, Austria and one more place. Rare in Munich, Canada, France and six more places. Loved in Leipzig.
1 in 1,214 girls born in Northern Ireland in 2025
Cologne 26thBerlin 30thSwitzerland 50th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 19 of the 40 official lists, among them Cologne (26th), Berlin (30th) and Switzerland (50th).
Show all 19 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cologne city | 26th 2023 | 31 | about 1 in 198 |
| Berlin city | 30th 2023 | 76 | about 1 in 191 |
| Switzerland | 50th 2025 | 124 | 1 in 274 |
| Austria | 95th 2025 | 74 | 1 in 483 |
| New Zealand | 96th 2025 | 39 | rank only |
| Munich city | 102nd 2025 | 13 | about 1 in 322 |
| British Columbia province | 132nd 2023 | 22 | about 1 in 544 |
| France | 236th 2025 | 280 | 1 in 1,024 |
| Northern Ireland | 259th 2025 | 6 | 1 in 1,214 |
| Quebec province | 280th 2025 | 20 | about 1 in 1,300 |
| Scotland | 429th 2025 | 7 | 1 in 2,556 |
| Ontario province | 432nd 2024 | 29 | about 1 in 1,878 |
| Poland | 498th 2025 | 4 | 1 in 29,947 |
| Italy | 779th 2024 | 13 | 1 in 13,782 |
| England and Wales | 807th 2025 | 45 | 1 in 5,628 |
| Ireland | 885th 2025 | 3 | 1 in 7,042 |
| Leipzig city | 10th 2025 | 19 | about 1 in 138 |
| Bonn city | 17th 2025 | 21 | about 1 in 144 |
| Rostock city | 36th 2025 | 5 | about 1 in 197 |
Rare, below the listed names: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Catalonia, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); Landeshauptstadt München, Statistisches Amt (opendata.muenchen.de) (Munich); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock). How we count, and every source
About the name
In Hawaiian, Malia is the form of Mary. In some cases it comes instead from the Hawaiian Mālia, 'calm'. Both routes are recorded.
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Three syllables, said muh-LEE-uh, with the stress in the middle. Malía is an accented spelling, and Maria, Mary, Amalia and Malina are related or similar names.
It is rising in ten regions and falling in just one. Switzerland is where it ranks highest, inside the top 50, and it is also used in Austria and France. In English-speaking countries it appears in New Zealand, British Columbia and Northern Ireland. French records show a peak in 2023, which places it firmly among the names of the present.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- muh-LEE-uh, 3 syllables
- Origin
- Hawaiian
Counted together here: Malía.
Etymology
Borrowed from Hawaiian Malia (“Mary”) and in some cases from Mālia (“calm”).
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 10 of 15 regions, falling in 1.
Show the yearsShow less
Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 1112 | 870 | 815 | 864 | 821 | 667 | 509 | 433 | 676 | 807 |
| Scotland | 798 | 666 | 415 | 765 | 341 | 442 | 324 | 540 | 384 | 429 |
| Northern Ireland | 259 | |||||||||
| Ireland | 628 | 420 | 885 | |||||||
| Ontario | 308 | 257 | 359 | 346 | 327 | 292 | 299 | 276 | 432 | |
| British Columbia | 129 | 469 | 244 | 229 | 215 | 176 | 130 | 132 | ||
| New Zealand | 96 | |||||||||
| Quebec | 287 | 221 | 322 | 241 | 322 | 299 | 183 | 313 | 228 | 280 |
| France | 337 | 270 | 297 | 288 | 209 | 204 | 178 | 166 | 197 | 236 |
| The Netherlands | 802 | 861 | 521 | 681 | 682 | |||||
| Austria | 274 | 301 | 247 | 262 | 168 | 118 | 138 | 103 | 90 | 95 |
| Switzerland | 122 | 102 | 82 | 63 | 71 | 68 | 50 | 48 | 36 | 50 |
| Berlin | 138 | 124 | 112 | 81 | 107 | 68 | 80 | 30 | ||
| Munich | 185 | 180 | 178 | 94 | 152 | 102 | 84 | 101 | 102 | |
| Cologne | 213 | 125 | 133 | 84 | 80 | 36 | 48 | 26 | ||
| Bonn | 143 | 134 | 134 | 102 | 96 | 42 | 34 | 25 | 7 | 17 |
| Leipzig | 152 | 124 | 110 | 113 | 99 | 89 | 42 | 50 | 17 | 10 |
| Rostock | 184 | 107 | 64 | 97 | 90 | 76 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 36 |
| Sweden | 796 | |||||||||
| Italy | 723 | 839 | 779 |
England and Wales, 2001 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 807 | 45 | 17.8 |
| 2024 | 676 | 56 | 21.7 |
| 2023 | 433 | 94 | 36.6 |
| 2022 | 509 | 78 | 29.6 |
| 2021 | 667 | 58 | 21.2 |
| 2020 | 821 | 44 | 16.4 |
| 2019 | 864 | 42 | 15.0 |
| 2018 | 815 | 46 | 16.0 |
| 2017 | 870 | 44 | 14.7 |
| 2016 | 1112 | 31 | 10.1 |
| 2015 | 2070 | 13 | 4.2 |
| 2014 | 2203 | 12 | 3.9 |
| 2013 | 1484 | 21 | 6.8 |
| 2012 | 1720 | 17 | 5.3 |
| 2011 | 2636 | 9 | 2.8 |
| 2010 | 1429 | 21 | 6.5 |
| 2009 | 982 | 33 | 10.5 |
| 2008 | 1815 | 14 | 4.4 |
| 2007 | 2410 | 9 | 2.9 |
| 2006 | 3116 | 6 | 2.0 |
| 2005 | 1589 | 14 | 4.9 |
| 2004 | 2530 | 7 | 2.4 |
| 2003 | 2727 | 6 | 2.2 |
| 2002 | 2540 | 6 | 2.2 |
| 2001 | 2023 | 8 | 3.0 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Malia in France since 1925 were born in or after 2019. First recorded in 1965. Her peak year there: 2023, at 125.9 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Malia per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period. Her 2023 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.
Sister names for Malia
1 in 1,457 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Malia.
1 in 1,041 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Malia.
1 in 636 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Malia.
1 in 1,491 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Malia.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Aliya.
1 in 564 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Malia.
1 in 473 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Malia.
1 in 1,627 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Malia.
1 in 5,964 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Malia.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Kamila.
1 in 596 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Malia.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Liya.
1 in 280 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Malia.
Middle names for Malia
1 in 107 in Northern Ireland
Malia Charlotte
3-2 beats · initials MC
Changes the beat after Malia: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 86 in Ireland
Malia Sophie
3-2 beats · initials MS
Changes the beat after Malia: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Malia Grace
3-1 beats · initials MG
Changes the beat after Malia: 3 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Malia Olivia
3-4 beats · initials MO · Malia slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Malia: 3 syllables, then 4 syllables. Malia slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 132 in Northern Ireland
Malia Ruby
3-2 beats · initials MR
Changes the beat after Malia: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Malia Rose
3-1 beats · initials MR
Changes the beat after Malia: 3 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 102 in Ireland
Malia Mia
3-2 beats · initials MM
Changes the beat after Malia: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 173 in Northern Ireland
Malia Nora
3-2 beats · initials MN
Changes the beat after Malia: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
Same style as Malia
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 6,845 in England and Wales
93% alike: moves with Malia across countries and decades.
1 in 1,457 in Northern Ireland
92% alike: moves with Malia across countries and decades.
1 in 3,127 in England and Wales
92% alike: moves with Malia across countries and decades.
1 in 636 in England and Wales
92% alike: moves with Malia across countries and decades.
1 in 1,491 in Scotland
91% alike: moves with Malia across countries and decades.
1 in 5,964 in Scotland
91% alike: moves with Malia across countries and decades.
1 in 2,556 in Scotland
91% alike: moves with Malia across countries and decades.
1 in 438 in England and Wales
90% alike: moves with Malia across countries and decades.
Famous people named Malia
Malia Metella.
Show who she isShow less
-
French swimmer born 1982
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Malia
4 questions, on how popular she is, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 4 questionsShow less
How popular is Malia?
Her best rank is No. 50 in Switzerland in 2025, about 1 in 274 girls. She is in the published lists of 19 of our 40 regions.
How do you pronounce Malia?
muh-LEE-uh, with 3 syllables.
Is Malia getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 10 of 15 regions, falling in 1.
Which sister names go with Malia?
The deck's top five sisters for Malia: Naya, Gianna, Amaya, Aliyah and Amara. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.