Malala
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani female education activist, and producer of film and television. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, receiving the Peace Prize in 2014 at age 17, and is the second Pakistani and the only Pashtun to receive a Nobel Prize.
Meaning & Origin of Malala
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani female education activist, and producer of film and television. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, receiving the Peace Prize in 2014 at age 17, and is the second Pakistani and the only Pashtun to receive a Nobel Prize.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Malala
Malala first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 2013, with 9 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2018, when 13 Malalas were born — ranking #8,145 that year. As of 2026, Malala ranks #15,243 for baby girls with 5 births, falling sharply (-40%). In total, more than 95 Malalas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 2010s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Malala
Phonetically similar names — useful when Malala is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Malala
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About the name Malala
Malala is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 2013 and has accumulated 95 births in the dataset. Malala's peak popularity came in 2018 when it ranked #8,145. Use the chart and map above to compare Malala's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2018 →
- Names of the 2010s →
- Names starting with "M" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . 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 (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
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.