Malaya
Girl · ma-LAY-a
Malaya is a girls' name. In 2025 it ranked 1,779th for girls in the UK (17 babies) and 774th for girls in the US (351 babies).
What does Malaya mean?
Several possible sources
In Tagalog malaya means free; it is also the historic name of the Malay Peninsula.
- Say it
- ma-LAY-a
Is Malaya a girl's or a boy's name?
Malaya is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 17 girls in the UK and 351 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Malaya in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,779among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 17about 1 in 16,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 21% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 17 girls in the UK were named Malaya, making it the 1,779th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,348th. Its busiest year was 2021, with 31 girls.
2025 had fewer girls named Malaya than any year since 2019.
Half of all the girls named Malaya in the UK since 1996 were born between 2016 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 27 girls in the UK were given Malaya or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,110, up from #1,779 for this spelling alone.
Among girls in 2025, it was 1,719th in England and Wales.
Malaya in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 17 | #1,779 |
| 2024 | 24 | #1,397 |
| 2023 | 22 | #1,497 |
| 2022 | 21 | #1,527 |
| 2021 | 31 | #1,162 |
| 2020 | 25 | #1,348 |
| 2019 | 15 | #1,958 |
| 2018 | 12 | #2,320 |
| 2017 | 13 | #2,210 |
| 2016 | 13 | #2,224 |
| 2015 | 12 | #2,328 |
| 2014 | 11 | #2,462 |
| 2013 | 4 | #4,953 |
| 2012 | 9 | #2,887 |
| 2011 | 1 | #7,717 |
| 2010 | 6 | #3,715 |
| 2009 | 5 | #4,141 |
| 2008 | 5 | #4,065 |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 1 | #6,173 |
How popular is Malaya in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #774among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 351about 1 in 4,600 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 19% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 351 girls in the US were named Malaya, making it the 774th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 667th. Its busiest year was 2014, with 449 girls. It first appears in the records in 1977.
Half of all the girls named Malaya in the US since 1880 were born between 2009 and 2020, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 659 girls in the US were given Malaya or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #479, up from #774 for this spelling alone.
Malaya in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 351 | #774 |
| 2024 | 341 | #813 |
| 2023 | 315 | #850 |
| 2022 | 416 | #708 |
| 2021 | 447 | #664 |
| 2020 | 429 | #667 |
| 2019 | 432 | #671 |
| 2018 | 380 | #736 |
| 2017 | 413 | #701 |
| 2016 | 442 | #667 |
| 2015 | 391 | #725 |
| 2014 | 449 | #637 |
| 2013 | 444 | #633 |
| 2012 | 350 | #782 |
| 2011 | 288 | #905 |
| 2010 | 318 | #844 |
| 2009 | 376 | #755 |
| 2008 | 263 | #1,005 |
| 2007 | 261 | #1,016 |
| 2006 | 276 | #946 |
| 2005 | 212 | #1,115 |
| 2004 | 169 | #1,270 |
| 2003 | 126 | #1,533 |
| 2002 | 116 | #1,593 |
| 2001 | 97 | #1,815 |
| 2000 | 84 | #1,981 |
| 1999 | 48 | #2,809 |
| 1998 | 42 | #3,012 |
| 1997 | 28 | #3,894 |
| 1996 | 26 | #4,054 |
| 1995 | 16 | #5,672 |
| 1994 | 19 | #5,011 |
| 1993 | 14 | #6,257 |
| 1992 | 12 | #7,060 |
| 1991 | 13 | #6,582 |
| 1990 | 7 | #10,187 |
| 1989 | 5 | #12,356 |
| 1988 | 7 | #9,239 |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 5 | #10,417 |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 6 | #9,235 |
| 1981 | 5 | #10,409 |
| 1980 | 5 | #10,390 |
| 1979 | 7 | #8,059 |
| 1978 | 5 | #9,748 |
| 1977 | 11 | #5,530 |
Names like Malaya
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa Aaliyah Zainab Amira Hafsa Amaya Khadija Ayah Raya Maya Hiba Safiya