ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1902 First Year 1937 Last Year 1925 Peak Year #800 Peak Rank 1K Total Count 31 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Mafalda What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Mafalda is an Argentine comic strip written and drawn by cartoonist Quino. The strip features a six-year-old girl named Mafalda, who reflects the Argentine middle class and progressive youth, is concerned about humanity and world peace, and has an innocent but serious attitude toward problems. The comic strip ran from 1964 to 1973 and was very popular in Latin America, Europe, Quebec, and Asia. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafalda) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafalda) ### Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name) * Portuguese * Italian * Spanish 🏛️Origin & history The entrance to a small residential building in Buenos Aires that stands close to the house where Quino lived humbly for 22 years. It was probably used as inspiration for Mafalda ' s home. Currently, there is a plaque honoring the cartoon. The comic strip artist Quino created Mafalda in 1963\. He had received a proposal by fellow artist Miguel Brascó , and the comic strip would be a covert advertisement for the "Mansfield" line of products of the Siam Di Tella company. The characters would use their products, and all of them would have names starting with "M". The name "Mafalda" was selected as [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Mafalda](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Mafalda_nos_saluda.JPG/330px-Mafalda_nos_saluda.JPG)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafalda) 📖 ## The Story of Mafalda American parents first put Mafalda on the record books as a baby girl name in 1902, with 5 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1925, when 85 Mafaldas were born — ranking #800 that year. The 1920s were its strongest decade, accounting for roughly 53% of all recorded Mafaldas. Its most recent appearance in the national data came in 1937 (14 births); the name has since faded from the published rankings. In total, more than 1K Mafaldas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1900s through the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🔗 ## Variants & Related Forms of Mafalda Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Mafalda. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Matilde](/matilde) 🎶 ## Names that sound like Mafalda Phonetically similar names — useful when Mafalda is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * Muffled * [Mayfield](/mayfield) * [Malda](/malda) * Mafia * [Matilda](/matilda) * Masala * [Masada](/masada) * [Mathilda](/mathilda) * Mafua * [Melda](/melda) * [Milda](/milda) * Moala Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Mafalda What does the name Mafalda mean? Mafalda is an Argentine comic strip written and drawn by cartoonist Quino. The strip features a six-year-old girl named Mafalda, who reflects the Argentine middle class and progressive youth, is concerned about humanity and world peace, and has an innocent but serious attitude toward problems. The comic strip ran from 1964 to 1973 and was very popular in Latin America, Europe, Quebec, and Asia. What is the origin of the name Mafalda? Mafalda has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: Portuguese, Italian, Spanish. How popular is Mafalda in 2026? In 2026, Mafalda ranks #2,196 among girls' names in the U.S., with 14 babies given the name that year. When was Mafalda most popular? Mafalda reached its peak popularity in 1925, ranking #800 that year with 85 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Mafalda most popular? Mafalda has historically been most popular in Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Mafalda. Is Mafalda a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Mafalda is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name. What names go well with Mafalda? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Mafalda include Phillis, Albert, Bernardine. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. What are nicknames or variants of Mafalda? Common variants and related forms of Mafalda include Matilde. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms. ## Similar Names [👧PhillisPeak #800](/phillis)[👧AlbertPeak #800](/albert)[👧BernardinePeak #800](/bernardine)[👧HerlindaPeak #800](/herlinda)[👧RonaPeak #800](/rona)[👧ArmidaPeak #800](/armida)[👧StormyPeak #800](/stormy)[👧ElyssaPeak #800](/elyssa) ## About the name Mafalda Mafalda is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1902 and has accumulated 1K births in the dataset. Mafalda's peak popularity came in 1925 when it ranked #800\. Use the chart and map above to compare Mafalda's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1925 → ](/year/1925) * [ Names of the 1920s → ](/decade/1920s) * [ Names starting with "M" → ](/letter/m) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.