Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Mala is a variant of May. An origin associated with May is Latin.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1951. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mala through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 698
- 0 boys · 698 girls
- Most popular year
- 1956
- 51 babies
- 2025
- 10
- #9,861 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −21%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 10 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 9,861 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 51 in 1956. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,799 as a first name in 2020; 372 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Mala’s family of names
In Latin usage, Mala has a later derivative in Melvin. Mala has a related form in May. In Burmese usage, Mala is a Roman-alphabet rendering of မာလာ.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Mala has relatives in 3 languages.
4 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Mala
- Mala SinhaIndian actressborn 1936
- Mala PowersAmerican actress (1931-2007)
- Mala ZimetbaumBelgian Jew Resistance member (1918–1944)
- Mala Rajya Laxmi Shahpolitician and Member of Parliamentborn 1950
- Mala EmdeGerman actressborn 1996
- Mala RoyIndian politicianborn 1957
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Mala, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Marla
Marla is a feminine given name from Hebrew.
>99% girls
Marsha
“dedicated to Mars, the god of war”
>99% girls
Marita
“star of the sea” · “from the sea of bitterness”
>99% girls
Marta
“lady”
>99% girls
Maryanne
Maryanne is a feminine given name.
>99% girls
Maribeth
“star of the sea” · “from the sea of bitterness”
>99% girls
Mona
“one who is born into the nobility” · “a jealous man”
>99% girls
Meryl
“resembling a blackbird” · “of the shining sea”
>99% girls