Mahala
Feminine · “Hebrew”
Mahala reached #352 in 1882, which makes it one of the larger nineteenth-century American names now almost entirely forgotten. It is biblical, from a family of Hebrew names built on a root that has two very different possible senses — sickness, or the sound of a stringed instrument.
How old is the name Mahala?
Mahala was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Mahala alive today was born around 1982, making them about 43 years old. About 1,900 people named Mahala are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mahala most popular?
Mahala peaked in 1882, reaching #352 nationally. Today it ranks #7133, 6,781 places below that high. See the whole 1882 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From מַחְלָה (Machlah) to Mahala
The story of Mahala
The daughters of Zelophehad — Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah — appear in Numbers 27 asking to inherit their father's land because he had no sons, and being granted it. That is one of very few passages in the Torah in which women change the law, and it kept the sisters' names in Bible-reading use. Mahala was widespread in nineteenth-century America and also in Britain, and it faded almost completely after 1900. It is separately common as a name among several Native American communities, arriving through a different route.
Meaningscholars disagree
Hebrew, disputed: "tenderness" or "a stringed instrument"
Two biblical names feed the modern one. Mahalath, a wife of Esau, and Mahlah, one of the five daughters of Zelophehad who successfully petitioned Moses for the right to inherit. The root is generally connected either to a word for sickness or weakness, giving tenderness, or to machol, a dance or a stringed instrument. Neither is settled and the two are not reconcilable.
How the name formed
- מַחְלָהMachlah
- Mahalath
- Mahala
Related forms: מַחְלָה · Mahalia · Mahalath
Pronouncing Mahala
muh-HAY-luh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Some nineteenth-century American usage gave MAH-huh-luh with front stress, and both are recorded. Hebrew Machlah has a guttural consonant English drops.
Nicknames for Mahala
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 199968 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #352reached in 1882
- Change vs 2022
- −50.0%15 in 2025, from 30
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Mahala in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- מַחְלָה in Hebrew — same name
- Mahalia in English — related form
- Mahalath in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania.
Mahalas among us
people named Mahala are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 107,151 born in 2025 was named Mahala
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Mahala 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.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Mahala beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mahala in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is genuinely biblical, connected to one of the few passages where women change the law.
- It was a substantial American name in its own right, not a rarity.
- Three open syllables make it easy and musical.
- The meaning is disputed between two incompatible readings.
- The stress placement varies and is not settled by the spelling.
- Mahala, Mahalia and Mahalah all appear in the records.
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Mahala
Feminine · #7133 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mahalas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,900 people named Mahala are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mahala in 2025?
- Mahala ranks #7133 among US girl names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mahala?
- About 1 in every 107,151 US girls born in 2025 was named Mahala — 15 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mahala with classmates?
- Mahala will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mahala
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Pennie#7133 · Zina#7133 · Elzie#7133 · Rosabel#7133 · Adelene#7133 · Cruz#7133 · Kansas#7133 · Ione#7133
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mahala? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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