Head to head · Girls' names
Malia vs Miley
#349 vs #338 in 2025
Miley is a whisker ahead (#338 vs #349 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Miley is climbing the charts fast, Malia is stepping back from its peak.
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, Miley leads 5 measures of 6; Malia 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: Malia —, Miley #1279 — Miley higher
- 1890s: Malia —, Miley #1450 — Miley higher
- 1910s: Malia #4814, Miley #2463 — Miley higher
- 1920s: Malia —, Miley #4200 — Miley higher
- 1930s: Malia —, Miley #4255 — Miley higher
- 1940s: Malia #4960, Miley #4960
- 1950s: Malia #2155, Miley — — Malia higher
- 1960s: Malia #1758, Miley #6673 — Malia higher
- 1970s: Malia #1194, Miley — — Malia higher
- 1980s: Malia #1044, Miley #9968 — Malia higher
- 1990s: Malia #870, Miley #10803 — Malia higher
- 2000s: Malia #403, Miley #4497 — Malia higher
- 2010s: Malia #296, Miley #651 — Malia higher
- 2020s: Malia #288, Miley #561 — Malia higher
Malia stood higher in 8 of 13 decades; Malia has held the lead since the 1950s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Malia | Miley |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #1279 |
| 1890s | — | #1450 |
| 1910s | #4814 | #2463 |
| 1920s | — | #4200 |
| 1930s | — | #4255 |
| 1940s | #4960 | #4960 |
| 1950s | #2155 | — |
| 1960s | #1758 | #6673 |
| 1970s | #1194 | — |
| 1980s | #1044 | #9968 |
| 1990s | #870 | #10803 |
| 2000s | #403 | #4497 |
| 2010s | #296 | #651 |
| 2020s | #288 | #561 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Malia
Hawaiian and Samoan form of Maria, from Hebrew Miryam
The Maria/Miriam line is certain; what Miryam itself meant is not. The oldest readings compete: a Hebrew root suggesting 'bitter', and an Egyptian element mry, 'beloved'. The familiar 'star of the sea' and 'drop of the sea' come later, from Latin glosses on the name rather than from its origin.
Miryam → Maria → Malia
How it traveled
When Protestant missionaries put Hawaiian into writing in the early nineteenth century, they worked with a short alphabet: no r, no s. Maria, the name of the mother of Jesus, came out of that process as Malia, and it entered Hawaiian usage as a plain and ordinary Christian name.
Miley
Not established
No dictionary meaning has ever been settled on Miley. What is documented: it exists as an Irish surname; it appears sporadically as a girl's given name in American records from the late nineteenth century; and its most famous bearer reached it by way of a childhood nickname rather than a translation.
How it traveled
Miley began life as a surname in Ireland before it was anyone's first name, and it drifted into American use the way many surnames did — quietly, in small numbers, with no particular story attached. Its modern life has one clear source: the American singer and actress Miley Cyrus, born Destiny Hope Cyrus and called Smiley as a small child, shortened to Miley, which she later made her legal name.
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
Malia
muh-LEE-uh
Three syllables with the weight in the middle. In Hawaiian the first vowel is fuller: mah-LEE-ah. Both are correct and both are understood.
- Mali — The most direct short form, used at home and among friends; also spelled Mahlee by some families.
- Lia — Taken from the back of the name; stands alone as a given name in its own right in Italian and German usage.
- Mia — An informal reshaping rather than a true clipping; independently one of the common given names of recent decades.
- Mal — A one-syllable school-and-teammates nickname, used more by peers than by family.
Miley
MY-lee
Stress on the first syllable; the second is a light -lee. It rhymes exactly with smiley, which makes it easy to teach and hard to get wrong once heard.
- Mi — Informal, family-level shortening; rarely written down.
- Mimi — Informal; also stands alone as a given name in French and Greek-influenced families.
- Smiley — Informal and playful — a reversal of the route the name took to fame.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Malia if you want…
- a name fewer children share#349 in 2025 — malia will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name past its most crowded yearsMalia is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itMalia runs 3 syllables, Miley 2
Choose Miley if you want…
- a name most people already know#338 in 2025, 900 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 405 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMiley is 2 syllables to Malia's 3
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
Malia
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds in English, so the name survives a phone call, a roll call and a coffee order without much explanation.
- Belongs fully to two traditions at once — Hawaiian and Samoan Christian usage, and the wider Maria family behind them.
- Carries a genuine line back through Maria to Miryam, one of the longest continuously used names on record.
To consider
- The sound is settled but the spelling is not: Maliyah, Maleah, Maliah and Maliya all exist, so expect to confirm which one you mean fairly often.
- For many Americans the name still points first to Malia Obama. That association is warm and will fade with time, but it is present now.
- It sits close to Mila, Maya, Amelia and Maria in the ear, and one of those will occasionally be what people hear the first time.
Miley
Strengths
- Two syllables, both open, and pronounceable on sight by almost any English speaker — no correction routine needed.
- Complete as it stands: it needs no nickname, though Mi and Mimi are available if wanted.
- Present in American records since the late nineteenth century, so it is not a coinage of the last few years.
To consider
- For at least another generation, the name will call one particular performer to mind first. That association has shifted several times over her career, and it will keep shifting — worth deciding now whether that matters to you.
- Mylie, Mylee, Mily and Miley all circulate. She will hear "how do you spell it?" reasonably often, though the answer is short.
- In noisy rooms it can be heard as Riley, Kylie or Miles. Not a serious problem, just a repeat or two at the start of a phone call.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Malia
40%chance Malia feels dated by 2040
Malia sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Miley
59%chance Miley feels dated by 2040
Miley 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.
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 Malia and Miley 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 Malia and Miley?
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 than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Malia and Miley — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Malia or Miley — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Malia or Miley?
- Miley, in 2025: Miley ranked #338 with 900 babies; Malia ranked #349 with 872 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Malia or Miley?
- Miley. Over the last five years Malia moved down 90 places; Miley moved up 405 places.
- Which is the older name, Malia or Miley?
- Malia entered the US charts in 1919; Miley entered the US charts in 1889. On the American record, Miley is the older name.
- How many people are named Malia and Miley?
- About 31,000 people named Malia are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 15,500 people named Miley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Malias or Mileys in the classroom?
- Malia will almost certainly be the only one in school. Miley will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Malia, Miley and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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