Malachai
A Hebrew masculine name meaning "messenger of God".
Name Census estimates that about 1,415 living Americans carry the first name Malachai. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Malachai today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Malachai births was 2022 (78 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Malachai. 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 Malachai with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Malachai is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 242,229 Americans
Peak year
2022
78 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,293
Tracked since 1991
Census
Malachai in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,045 people with the first name Malachai, which placed it at #12,050 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
#12,050
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,045 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
33.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Malachai
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Malachai is White at 33.6%. The next largest groups are Black (32.0%) and Hispanic (16.3%). 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 Malachai 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 Malachai at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White33.6% · 351
- Black or African American32.0% · 334
- Hispanic or Latino16.3% · 170
- Two or more races14.2% · 148
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 19
Popularity
Malachai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Malachai from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 490 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Malachai remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Malachai 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 Malachai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Malachais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Malachai, while Virginia, Illinois, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 30 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Malachai
The name Malachai has its origins in Hebrew, derived from the word "mal'akh" meaning "messenger" or "angel". It is a biblical name, appearing in the Old Testament as Malachi, one of the twelve minor prophets. The name Malachai is a variant spelling of Malachi.
In the Book of Malachi, the prophet is believed to have lived in the 5th century BC and played a crucial role in restoring traditional worship among the Jews after their return from the Babylonian exile. The book is considered significant in Jewish and Christian traditions as it concludes the Old Testament and foretells the coming of the Messiah.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Malachai can be found in the 16th century. Malachai Thrugge was an English clergyman and academic who lived from 1528 to 1594. He served as the Master of Christ's College, Cambridge, and was known for his contributions to the field of theology.
Another notable figure with the name Malachai was Malachai Parker, an American Puritan minister who lived from 1639 to 1718. He played a significant role in the early history of Massachusetts and was an influential figure in the Salem Witch Trials, opposing the executions of those accused of witchcraft.
In the 19th century, Malachai Underwood was a Canadian businessman and politician who lived from 1825 to 1881. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and was involved in various business ventures, including the establishment of a successful brewery.
Malachai Browne was an Irish-American painter and sculptor who lived from 1859 to 1935. He is renowned for his works depicting scenes from rural Ireland and his sculptures, which often portrayed historical and mythological figures.
A more recent figure with the name Malachai was Malachai Benjamin, an American singer-songwriter born in 1986. He is known for his work in the alternative rock and indie genres and has released several critically acclaimed albums.
While the name Malachai has its roots in Hebrew and biblical traditions, it has been used across various cultures and time periods, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in fields such as religion, politics, art, and music.
People
Malachai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Malachai 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
Malachai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Malachai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,415 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Malachai 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 242,229 US residents.
Is Malachai a common name?
We classify Malachai as "Rare". It ranks above 92.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,430 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Malachai most popular?
The single biggest year for Malachai was 2022, when 78 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Malachai is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Malachai in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,045 people with the name Malachai, or 0.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,050 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 Malachai 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 Malachai?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Malachai leans strongly male. 1,034 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 12 female bearers (1.1%). 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 Malachai?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Malachai is White at 33.6%. The next largest groups are Black (32.0%) and Hispanic (16.3%). 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 Malachai most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Malachai in the 2020 Census, accounting for 33.6% (351 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 Malachai in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Malachai a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Malachai 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.
Is Malachai still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Malachai 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 Malachai 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 are called Malachai?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.