Head to head · Girls' names
Malani vs Matilda
#374 vs #364 in 2025
Matilda is a whisker ahead (#364 vs #374 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Matilda is back after a long quiet spell, Malani is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Malani has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Matilda leads 5 measures of 6; Malani leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Malani —, Matilda #110 — Matilda higher
- 1890s: Malani —, Matilda #138 — Matilda higher
- 1900s: Malani —, Matilda #178 — Matilda higher
- 1910s: Malani —, Matilda #235 — Matilda higher
- 1920s: Malani —, Matilda #300 — Matilda higher
- 1930s: Malani —, Matilda #470 — Matilda higher
- 1940s: Malani —, Matilda #690 — Matilda higher
- 1950s: Malani —, Matilda #895 — Matilda higher
- 1960s: Malani —, Matilda #1106 — Matilda higher
- 1970s: Malani #8444, Matilda #1649 — Matilda higher
- 1980s: Malani #9199, Matilda #2757 — Matilda higher
- 1990s: Malani #11795, Matilda #2921 — Matilda higher
- 2000s: Malani #5960, Matilda #1502 — Matilda higher
- 2010s: Malani #1520, Matilda #594 — Matilda higher
- 2020s: Malani #394, Matilda #429 — Malani higher
Matilda stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Malani took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Malani | Matilda |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #110 |
| 1890s | — | #138 |
| 1900s | — | #178 |
| 1910s | — | #235 |
| 1920s | — | #300 |
| 1930s | — | #470 |
| 1940s | — | #690 |
| 1950s | — | #895 |
| 1960s | — | #1106 |
| 1970s | #8444 | #1649 |
| 1980s | #9199 | #2757 |
| 1990s | #11795 | #2921 |
| 2000s | #5960 | #1502 |
| 2010s | #1520 | #594 |
| 2020s | #394 | #429 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Malani
Not charting outside the US.
Matilda
- England & Wales#31
- Scotland#93
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Malani
Not established
No settled meaning has been established for this spelling. What is documented sits nearby: in Hawaiian, the element lani means sky, heaven, or royal, and it closes names like Leilani and Noelani. Sanskrit has Malini, one vowel away, a name borne in Indian tradition and still given today. Malani is also a family name in western India. Which of these, if any, brought the American Malani into being is not recorded.
Our story of Malani — where the record runs out
Picture the name as a meeting place rather than a descent. Its ending belongs to Hawaiian, where lani carries the sense of sky and heaven and closes names Americans have known for generations; its opening syllable is the one that begins Malia and Mariana.
Matilda
mighty in battle
From the Germanic elements *maht* "might, strength" and *hild* "battle", combined in the old name Mahthildis.
Mahthildis → Mathilde → Matilda → Maud
How it traveled
The name began as Germanic Mahthildis and was borne by a tenth-century German queen later honored as a saint. It reached England in Latin form after 1066 with Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror, and was carried by their granddaughter Empress Matilda, whose claim to the English crown set off the civil war of the twelfth century.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Malani
muh-LAH-nee
Stress falls on the middle syllable. Some families say muh-LAY-nee instead, which brings it very close to Melanie — worth deciding early which one you mean, since both are heard.
- Lani — The most natural short form, and a standalone given name in its own right, long used in Hawaii and on the mainland.
- Mal — Informal and unisex; also serves Mallory, Malcolm and Malia, so it rarely points back to one name alone.
- Mala — Keeps the first two syllables; used mostly at home rather than on paper.
- Ani — Informal, drawn from the tail of the name; also a given name on its own in Armenian and Indian usage.
Matilda
muh-TIL-duh
Stress on the middle syllable. The German and French Mathilde is closer to ma-TILL-duh or ma-TEELD, if relatives abroad reach for that version.
- Tilly — The most common short form in British and Australian use, and given independently as a full name too.
- Tillie — Older American spelling of the same short form; also stands alone as a given name.
- Mattie — Informal, long-established in American use, shared with Martha and Matthew.
- Tilda — Used on its own in Scandinavia as well as as a short form of Matilda.
- Also Maud.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Malani if you want…
- a name fewer children share#374 in 2025 — malani will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a newer arrivalMalani entered the US charts in 1977
- a name that feels very nowMalani is climbing the charts fast
Choose Matilda if you want…
- a name most people already know#364 in 2025, 838 babies that year
- a name that charts abroad tooMatilda is on the national lists of England & Wales and Scotland
- a long American recordMatilda was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 51% for Malani
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Malani
Strengths
- Ready-made short forms: Lani and Mal both work immediately, and Lani stands on its own as a name.
- Spelled the way it sounds once heard — five letters, no silent anything, no double consonants to explain.
- Sits in a sound family Americans already know from Leilani, Kalani and Malia, so it lands as familiar rather than invented.
To consider
- It will be heard as Melanie, and read as Milani or Malia, more often than you would like. Expect to repeat and respell it, cheerfully, for a lifetime.
- No meaning is established for this spelling. If you want a name you can explain in one confident sentence, this one asks you to say "nobody has settled that" instead.
- It is climbing rather than leveling off, so a child named Malani now may meet more of them by high school than by kindergarten. That is a gentle shift, not a flood.
Matilda
Strengths
- An unbroken record in English since the Norman Conquest — long past the point where any fashion cycle can date it.
- Recognizable in German, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish and Scandinavian forms, so it travels without translation.
- Several established short forms already in real use — Tilly, Tillie, Mattie, Tilda — none of which need explaining.
To consider
- Roald Dahl's novel and its film and stage versions are the first thing many people will mention. It is affectionate rather than awkward, but expect it often.
- Mathilda, Mathilde and Matilde are all real spellings elsewhere, so the double-check question will come up on forms and rosters for life.
- The full name is still strongly represented among the oldest generations in the US, which is exactly what makes it read as vintage now — worth knowing if you would rather a name with no grandmotherly echo at all.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Malani
51%chance Malani feels dated by 2040
Malani is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Matilda
30%chance Matilda feels dated by 2040
Matilda is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Malani and Matilda in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Malani and Matilda?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names ending in -i
- Vintage names making a comeback
- Grandmother-chic: 1920s names ready to return
- British invasion: UK favorites still rare in the US
- all guides
Where Malani and Matilda each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Malani or Matilda — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Malani or Matilda?
- Matilda, in 2025: Matilda ranked #364 with 838 babies; Malani ranked #374 with 822 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Malani or Matilda?
- Malani. Over the last five years Malani moved up 120 places; Matilda moved up 114 places.
- Which is the older name, Malani or Matilda?
- Malani entered the US charts in 1977; Matilda was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Matilda is the older name.
- How many people are named Malani and Matilda?
- About 7,100 people named Malani are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 16,000 people named Matilda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Malanis or Matildas in the classroom?
- Malani will almost certainly be the only one in school. Matilda will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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