Mala
A Sanskrit name meaning garland, rosary, or necklace.
Name Census estimates that about 598 living Americans carry the first name Mala. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mala today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mala births was 1956 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mala. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Mala with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
598
~ 1 in 573,168 Americans
Peak year
1956
51 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2023 SSA rank
#7,125
Tracked since 1951
Census
Mala in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,799 people with the first name Mala, which placed it at #8,133 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
#8,133
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,799 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
58.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mala
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mala is Asian/Pacific Islander at 58.8%. The next largest groups are White (22.5%) and Black (10.7%). 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 Mala 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 Mala at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander58.8% · 1,057
- White22.5% · 404
- Black or African American10.7% · 192
- Two or more races4.7% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 16
Popularity
Mala: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mala from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 175 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mala 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 Mala during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Malas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mala
The name Mala originates from the Sanskrit language, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that was the root of many modern Indian languages. It is believed to have been in use since the 2nd millennium BCE. The name Mala is derived from the Sanskrit word "mala," which means "garland" or "wreath."
In Hindu mythology, the word "mala" is often associated with strings of beads used for meditation and prayer. These garlands of beads, known as japa malas, are used to keep track of the repetition of mantras or sacred words during spiritual practices. This connection to spiritual significance may have contributed to the popularity of the name Mala in certain regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mala can be found in the ancient Indian epic poem, the Mahabharata. In this epic, Mala is mentioned as the name of a character who was a princess and the daughter of a sage named Raurava. This reference suggests that the name was in use during the time when the Mahabharata was composed, which is estimated to be around the 8th or 9th century BCE.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Mala. One such person was Mala Sinha, an acclaimed Indian actress who appeared in numerous Bollywood films during the 1950s and 1960s. She was born in 1936 and gained widespread recognition for her performances in movies like "Pyaasa" and "Gumraah."
Another notable Mala was Mala Sen, an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who was born in 1938. She was a prominent figure in the world of Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form, and received numerous awards and honors for her contributions to the art.
In the realm of literature, Mala Dayal was an Indian author and poet who wrote extensively in Hindi and Urdu. Born in 1936, she published several collections of poetry and short stories, and her works explored themes of feminism, social justice, and human relationships.
Mala Mukherjee was a distinguished Indian scientist who made significant contributions to the field of biochemistry. Born in 1923, she conducted pioneering research on plant biochemistry and was awarded the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for her work.
Lastly, Mala Srivastava was an Indian freedom fighter and political activist who played a crucial role in India's independence movement against British colonial rule. Born in 1915, she was actively involved in the Non-Cooperation Movement and the Quit India Movement, and her contributions to the struggle for independence are widely recognized.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Mala, highlighting its cultural and historical significance across various fields and regions.
People
Mala + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mala 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
Mala: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mala?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 598 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mala 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 573,168 US residents.
Is Mala a common name?
We classify Mala as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 688 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mala most popular?
The single biggest year for Mala was 1956, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mala is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mala in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,799 people with the name Mala, or 0.60 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,133 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 Mala 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 Mala?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mala leans strongly female. 1,748 people counted with this name were female (97.2%), compared with 51 male bearers (2.8%). 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 Mala?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mala is Asian/Pacific Islander at 58.8%. The next largest groups are White (22.5%) and Black (10.7%). 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 Mala most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Mala in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.8% (1,057 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 Mala in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mala a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mala 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 Mala still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mala 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 Mala 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 Mala as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Mala on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.