Malaika
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- ma-LY-ka
- Origin
- Swahili
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,036 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #2,326 for girls
Malaika is a girls' name of Swahili origin, meaning “angel”. In 2025 it ranked 1,036th for girls in the UK (35 babies) and 2,326th for girls in the US (78 babies).
What does Malaika mean?
Swahili: from Arabic
“angel”
Swahili for angel, from Arabic; Malaika is also the title of a famous Swahili love song.
Is Malaika a girl's or a boy's name?
Malaika is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 35 girls in the UK and 78 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Malaika in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,036among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 35about 1 in 8,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 22% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 35 girls in the UK were named Malaika, making it the 1,036th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 672nd. Its busiest year was 2005, with 175 girls.
2025 had fewer girls named Malaika than any year since 2000.
Half of all the girls named Malaika in the UK since 1996 were born between 2005 and 2015, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 43 girls in the UK were given Malaika or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #810, up from #1,036 for this spelling alone.
- Malaika 35
- Malaikah 8
Among girls in 2025, it was 983rd in England and Wales.
Malaika in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 35 | #1,036 |
| 2024 | 49 | #822 |
| 2023 | 44 | #875 |
| 2022 | 45 | #847 |
| 2021 | 57 | #720 |
| 2020 | 60 | #672 |
| 2019 | 47 | #849 |
| 2018 | 58 | #744 |
| 2017 | 60 | #737 |
| 2016 | 75 | #613 |
| 2015 | 80 | #588 |
| 2014 | 98 | #489 |
| 2013 | 96 | #484 |
| 2012 | 112 | #446 |
| 2011 | 117 | #427 |
| 2010 | 115 | #420 |
| 2009 | 135 | #360 |
| 2008 | 135 | #368 |
| 2007 | 148 | #336 |
| 2006 | 170 | #300 |
| 2005 | 175 | #282 |
| 2004 | 173 | #274 |
| 2003 | 107 | #382 |
| 2002 | 48 | #629 |
| 2001 | 43 | #658 |
| 2000 | 31 | #811 |
| 1999 | 18 | #1,194 |
| 1998 | 7 | #2,304 |
| 1997 | 10 | #1,780 |
| 1996 | 4 | #3,289 |
How popular is Malaika in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,326among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 78about 1 in 21,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 31% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 78 girls in the US were named Malaika, making it the 2,326th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,682nd. Its busiest year was 2006, with 86 girls. It first appears in the records in 1968.
Half of all the girls named Malaika in the US since 1880 were born between 1992 and 2016, the years shaded on the chart below.
Malaika in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 78 | #2,326 |
| 2024 | 86 | #2,203 |
| 2023 | 72 | #2,466 |
| 2022 | 67 | #2,604 |
| 2021 | 75 | #2,384 |
| 2020 | 62 | #2,682 |
| 2019 | 52 | #3,084 |
| 2018 | 66 | #2,610 |
| 2017 | 69 | #2,546 |
| 2016 | 57 | #2,934 |
| 2015 | 63 | #2,773 |
| 2014 | 58 | #2,920 |
| 2013 | 53 | #3,075 |
| 2012 | 49 | #3,313 |
| 2011 | 62 | #2,795 |
| 2010 | 69 | #2,614 |
| 2009 | 61 | #2,851 |
| 2008 | 51 | #3,266 |
| 2007 | 69 | #2,647 |
| 2006 | 86 | #2,229 |
| 2005 | 74 | #2,375 |
| 2004 | 85 | #2,115 |
| 2003 | 72 | #2,318 |
| 2002 | 66 | #2,411 |
| 2001 | 60 | #2,536 |
| 2000 | 57 | #2,589 |
| 1999 | 47 | #2,851 |
| 1998 | 28 | #4,020 |
| 1997 | 29 | #3,812 |
| 1996 | 41 | #2,896 |
| 1995 | 34 | #3,280 |
| 1994 | 39 | #2,983 |
| 1993 | 36 | #3,153 |
| 1992 | 29 | #3,674 |
| 1991 | 20 | #4,802 |
| 1990 | 28 | #3,709 |
| 1989 | 15 | #5,539 |
| 1988 | 17 | #4,835 |
| 1987 | 18 | #4,471 |
| 1986 | 17 | #4,536 |
| 1985 | 10 | #6,455 |
| 1984 | 15 | #4,736 |
| 1983 | 16 | #4,475 |
| 1982 | 20 | #3,897 |
| 1981 | 19 | #4,004 |
| 1980 | 27 | #3,134 |
| 1979 | 29 | #2,931 |
| 1978 | 30 | #2,741 |
| 1977 | 35 | #2,463 |
| 1976 | 26 | #2,864 |
| 1975 | 36 | #2,278 |
| 1974 | 43 | #1,961 |
| 1973 | 59 | #1,570 |
| 1972 | 72 | #1,380 |
| 1971 | 56 | #1,640 |
| 1970 | 37 | #2,160 |
| 1969 | 7 | #5,972 |
| 1968 | 8 | #5,146 |
Names like Malaika
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Khadija Amira Safa Layla Aisha Aaliyah Maya Halima Ayla Amina Hafsa Maliha
Other spellings of Malaika
Names related to Malaika
More Swahili names
Zuri Imani Emani Jabari Zhuri Imara Maisha Asante Imaani Taraji Xuri Zuriyah Johari Simba Zamani Ahmani
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Malaika: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/malaika, updated 20 October 2026.