Mahlia
Feminine
Two of the Psalms carry a word in their headings that nobody can translate. Al-mahalath appears at the top of Psalms 53 and 88, and it may name a tune, an instrument, a dance or a sickness. The superscriptions of the Psalms are full of these: technical terms from a musical practice that stopped being performed.
How old is the name Mahlia?
Mahlia first appears in US birth records in 1991 — 34 years ago. The typical Mahlia alive today was born around 2012, making them about 13 years old. About 600 people named Mahlia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mahlia most popular?
Mahlia peaked in 2009, reaching #3677 nationally. Today it ranks #8860, 5,183 places below that high. See the whole 2009 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Mahalath to Mahlia
The story of Mahlia
The Psalm headings are among the most opaque passages in the Hebrew Bible. They contain instructions of some kind: to the choirmaster, according to the Gittith, according to Do Not Destroy, upon Shoshannim, al-mahalath leannoth. Translators have guessed for two thousand years and the Greek translators of the third century BC were already guessing. Some appear to name tunes, in the way a hymn book gives a meter and a tune name. Some may name instruments. Some may be liturgical directions. Al-mahalath has been read as a wind instrument, as a mode, as a dance and as a reference to sickness, and there is no way to choose. What the headings preserve is the technical vocabulary of a musical tradition that was fully alive when they were written and completely lost within a few centuries.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
Mahlia is most likely a respelling of Mahalia or Malia. Mahalia derives from the Hebrew Mahalath, a name in Genesis borne by a wife of Esau, whose meaning is disputed between a word for a lyre or a dance and a word for sickness. Malia is separately the Hawaiian form of Mary. Which lies behind an American bearer is not recoverable. It peaks in 2009.
How the name formed
- Mahalath
- Mahalia
- Mahlia
Related forms: Mahalia · Malia
Pronouncing Mahlia
MAH-lee-ah
Three syllables, stress on the first. muh-HAY-lee-ah, following Mahalia with the h sounded, is also heard. The spelling supports both.
Nicknames for Mahlia
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
- 1991
- Most girls named
- 200943 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3677reached in 2009
- Change vs 2024
- −42.1%11 in 2025, from 19
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.
Mahlia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Mahalia in English — related form
- Malia in Hawaiian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Florida.
Mahlias among us
people named Mahlia are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 146,115 born in 2025 was named Mahlia
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Cira test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Mahlia's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Cira climbed just as high around 1945, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Cira's path sketches the road Mahlia is walking now.
Mahlia 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
Mahlia beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mahlia in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Lia is a complete name as a short form.
- The rhythm is smooth and easy to say.
- It sits between two established name families.
- Two pronunciations circulate.
- Mahalia and Malia are both more common.
- The Hebrew name's meaning is genuinely disputed.
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What they receive
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Mahlia
Feminine · #8860 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mahlias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Mahlia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mahlia in 2025?
- Mahlia ranks #8860 among US girl names in 2025, with 11 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mahlia?
- About 1 in every 146,115 US girls born in 2025 was named Mahlia — 11 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mahlia with classmates?
- Mahlia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mahlia
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lida#8860 · Lauretta#8860 · Dot#8860 · Bonita#8860 · Benita#8860 · Trixie#8860 · Adna#8860 · Sue#8860
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mahlia? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mahlia and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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