Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Malley has more than one origin: as an English surname of Norman origin, it comes from Latin Mallius; as a Carpathian Rusyn surname, it comes from Polish Mały.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
In English usage, Malley as a surname is a short form of O'Malley. In English usage, Malley as a surname developed from Mallius.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1994. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Malley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 211
- 0 boys · 211 girls
- Most popular year
- 2010
- 17 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #11,547 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 11,547 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 17 in 2010. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 273 as a first name in 2020; 3,581 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.
Malley’s family of names
In English usage, Malley as a surname is a short form of O'Malley. In English usage, Malley as a surname developed from the Latin form Mallius. In English usage, Malley as a surname has a related form in Mally.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Malley has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Irish roots to each of them.
8 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
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