Name In Trend: Malia

I said I would devote most of my time to boy names, but of course I'm gonna give girl names some "airtime".

Malia is of Hebrew origin and means "queen". Curiously, it's also the Hawaiian form of Mary, so if you think that's stale, Malia is a good alternative.

Here is the popularity of Malia over the years:

Malia was first seen in the 1970s, but never made a huge impression until the late 1990s, when the name started to make impressive climbs up the chart. In 2009, the name had it's biggest rise yet, climbing 153 places to #192. This was mostly due to Malia Obama, Barack Obama's daughter, who brought the name to the limelight. Will this be in the top50 in a few years? Who knows. But if it keeps rising like that, there's no question.

If you're not too fond of Malia, try these: Maria, Thalia, Leah, Melia, Mali, Tamia, Kalia. Some of these are more popular than Malia, others less, some are rising, others falling, but all have one thing in common - they're pleasing to the ear.