Given name
Malva
“one who is soft and slender”
Malva is used as a given name. One Greek interpretation is “one who is soft and slender.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Greek interpretation is “one who is soft and slender.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Malva through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 209
- 0 boys · 209 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 12 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 7 in 1958. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 12 in 1921. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 221 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Malva’s family of names
Malva has a related form in Malvah. Malva has a related form in Malvea. Malva has a related form in Malvia.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Malva
- Malva SchalekCzech painter (1882–1945)
- Malva Landageologist and human rights activist1918–2019
- Malva FloresMexican poetborn 1961
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Malva, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Madora
“a great ruler”
>99% girls
Marjory
Marjory is a feminine given name from Ancient Greek.
>99% girls
Onella
“lady of light”
>99% girls
Vara
“the stranger; one who is care-”
>99% girls
Voleta
“the veiled one”
>99% girls
Orea
“from the mountains”
24% boys · 76% girls
Ireta
“one who is serene”
>99% girls
Lear
“of the royalty”
7% boys · 93% girls