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🦋 RareGirl nameHawaiian

Malia

“Calm, peaceful waters”

2 syllables · 5 letters

About the name Malia

Malia is the Hawaiian rendering of Maria, reshaped by an alphabet with no r and a fondness for open vowels. A presidential daughter gave it a sharp visibility spike in 2009, after which it settled back into pleasant obscurity.

Malia is a girl name of Hawaiian origin, pronounced muh-LEE-uh. On the NameRarity scale it scores 69 out of 100, which places it in the rare band — recognisable but seldom used. Distinctive without needing to be spelled out twice. Its strongest period was the 2000s.

Associated with
poisedgentlegroundedfriendly

Name facts at a glance

Meaning
Calm, peaceful waters
Origin
Hawaiian
Gender
Girl
Pronunciation
muh-LEE-uh
Syllables
2
Letters
5
US rank
#700
Peak era
2000s
Rarity
69 / 100
Per million
~17
Starts with
M
Numerology
9 · The Humanitarian

How popular is Malia?

Popularity31/100
Rarity69/100

Malia sits at approximately #700 in recent US rankings. Roughly 17 people per million carry it — about 1 in 58,824. In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect not to find a single one.

Famous people named Malia

  • Malia Obama
    American filmmaker and daughter of President Barack Obama

Spellings and variants of Malia

MaliyahMaleahMalea

Names similar to Malia

Ultra Rare

Madri

MAH-dree

Princess of Madra, second wife of Pandu and mother of the twins

Sanskrit95% rare
Ultra Rare

Malar

MUH-lur

Blossom, flower

Tamil92% rare
Rare

Aarav

AH-rahv

Peaceful, calm; the quiet hum of a chant

Sanskrit62% rare
Rare

Dahlia

DAHL-yah

The dahlia flower, named for botanist Anders Dahl

Swedish56% rare
Ultra Rare

Eulalia

yoo-LAY-lee-ah

Sweetly speaking, well-spoken

Greek95% rare
Very Rare

Frida

FREE-dah

Peace, peaceful ruler

German76% rare
Very Rare

Hema

HAY-mah

Gold, golden

Sanskrit82% rare
Uncommon

Lucia

loo-CHEE-ah

Light

Italian (from Latin)54% rare
Browse all 1,284 names →

Malia — frequently asked questions

What does the name Malia mean?

Malia means "Calm, peaceful waters". It is a name of Hawaiian origin, most often given to a girl.

How do you pronounce Malia?

Malia is pronounced muh-LEE-uh, with 2 syllables.

How rare is the name Malia?

Malia scores 69 out of 100 on the NameRarity scale, which makes it rare. Roughly 1 in every 58,824 people carry it — about 17 per million.

What is the numerology number for Malia?

Malia carries the expression number 9, known as The Humanitarian. Its soul urge number is 11 and its personality number is 7.

What is the lucky number and lucky colour for Malia?

The lucky number for Malia is 9 (with 18, 27, 36 also favourable), and its lucky colour is Coral Flame. The traditional lucky day is Tuesday and the associated gemstone is Bloodstone.

Is Malia a popular name?

Malia currently sits around rank #700 in the United States, and its strongest period was the 2000s.