Maleeya
A feminine Arabic name meaning "full of beauty" or "perfect".
Name Census estimates that about 324 living Americans carry the first name Maleeya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maleeya today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maleeya births was 2009 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maleeya. 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
324
~ 1 in 1,057,884 Americans
Peak year
2009
38 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,794
Tracked since 2003
Census
Maleeya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 274 people with the first name Maleeya, which placed it at #31,306 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
#31,306
National first-name rank
People counted
274
274 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
39.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maleeya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maleeya is Black at 39.8%. The next largest groups are White (20.1%) and Two or More Races (19.0%). 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 Maleeya 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 Maleeya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American39.8% · 109
- White20.1% · 55
- Two or more races19.0% · 52
- Hispanic or Latino13.5% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.1% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 7
Popularity
Maleeya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maleeya from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 195 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
Maleeya 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 Maleeya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maleeya
The name Maleeya is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, with its roots tracing back to the Middle East and North Africa regions. The name is derived from the Arabic word "malika," meaning "queen" or "sovereign ruler." This connection suggests that Maleeya was initially bestowed upon girls born into royal or noble families, symbolizing their regal status and potential to become future leaders.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Maleeya can be found in ancient Arabic literature, particularly in poetry and prose from the 7th to 9th centuries. During this golden age of Islamic civilization, the name was often associated with grace, beauty, and intelligence, reflecting the high regard and respect accorded to women of distinction.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Maleeya. One such figure was Maleeya bint al-Muqtadir, a princess born in Baghdad in the 10th century during the Abbasid Caliphate. She was renowned for her extensive knowledge of Arabic literature and her patronage of the arts and sciences.
Another prominent historical figure was Maleeya al-Qurashiyya, a 12th-century scholar and poet from Cordoba, Spain. Her works were widely acclaimed and celebrated for their depth and eloquence, reflecting the rich cultural exchange that occurred during the Islamic Golden Age in Andalusia.
In the 14th century, Maleeya al-Dimashqiyya, a Syrian mystic and Sufi poet, gained recognition for her profound spiritual writings and her contributions to the preservation of Islamic mystical traditions.
During the Ottoman Empire, Maleeya Khanum, born in the late 16th century, was a prominent figure in the imperial harem. She was highly educated and played a significant role in the cultural and intellectual life of the Ottoman court, serving as a mentor and advisor to the royal family.
Lastly, in the 19th century, Maleeya bint Mubarak al-Sabah, a member of the Kuwaiti ruling family, was renowned for her philanthropic efforts and her dedication to advancing education and social welfare initiatives in the region.
These historical examples demonstrate the enduring presence and significance of the name Maleeya across various cultures and time periods, reflecting its association with nobility, intellectual pursuits, and a commitment to the betterment of society.
People
Maleeya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maleeya 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
Maleeya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maleeya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 324 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maleeya 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 1,057,884 US residents.
Is Maleeya a common name?
We classify Maleeya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 327 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maleeya most popular?
The single biggest year for Maleeya was 2009, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maleeya is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maleeya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 274 people with the name Maleeya, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,306 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 Maleeya 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 Maleeya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maleeya leans strongly female. 278 people counted with this name were female (98.2%), compared with 5 male bearers (1.8%). 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 Maleeya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maleeya is Black at 39.8%. The next largest groups are White (20.1%) and Two or More Races (19.0%). 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 Maleeya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Maleeya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.8% (109 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 Maleeya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maleeya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maleeya 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 Maleeya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maleeya 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 Maleeya 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 the name Maleeya?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.