Maleah

Maleah: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“possibly bitter; possibly gentle or tender”
Origin
Hebrew
Say it
mah-LEE-ah · 3 syllables
Used for
Girls

Usually treated as a modern variant of Malia or a blend influenced by names like Malea and Maliyah. Its exact derivation is uncertain, and associations may trace to Mary/Maria or Hawaiian Malia. The origin of this name is not settled among etymologists.

How popular is Maleah?

202459.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Maleah in 2024195

2024 rank#1,210 girls

Peak year2009

Total US babies since 18809,237

Maleah is fading: recent use is about 63% of its level ten years before.

Names like Maleah

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • MaliaMary · Hawaiian
  • Elizabethmy God is an oath · Hebrew
  • Elianamy God has answered · Hebrew
  • Abigailmy father is joy · Hebrew
  • Naomipleasantness · Hebrew
  • Hannahgrace; favor · Hebrew
  • Maryuncertain, traditionally beloved or bitter · Hebrew
  • Delilahdelicate · Hebrew

Maleah questions

What does the name Maleah mean?

Maleah means "possibly bitter; possibly gentle or tender". It comes from Hebrew. Usually treated as a modern variant of Malia or a blend influenced by names like Malea and Maliyah. Its exact derivation is uncertain, and associations may trace to Mary/Maria or Hawaiian Malia.

Is Maleah a boy or girl name?

Maleah is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Maleah?

195 US babies were named Maleah in 2024. Its peak year was 2009.

How do you pronounce Maleah?

Maleah is usually pronounced mah-LEE-ah.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.