Maila
Feminine
Maila is a Finnish women's name, and it is also a Filipino and modern American one. In Finnish it is a form of Maria; the others have their own quite separate stories.
How old is the name Maila?
Maila first appears in US birth records in 1974 — 51 years ago. The typical Maila is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 800 people named Maila are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Maila most popular?
Maila peaked in 2022, reaching #2530 nationally. Today it ranks #3577, 1,047 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Maila
Ours, offered as ours. Finnish reshapes borrowed names thoroughly — Maria gives Maija, Marja, Maila and Mari, none of which looks much like the original — because Finnish phonology has its own strong preferences and imported names have to meet them. Maila is one of those results. The Filipino and American Mailas arrived by other roads entirely. Three communities, one spelling, and the honest position is that the name means different things to each of them.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No single source. Finnish Maila is generally treated as a form of Maria, whose own meaning is unsettled. Filipino use draws on Spanish and Tagalog naming independently. A modern American Maila may be built from Mai and the -la ending. None is established for all uses.
Pronouncing Maila
MY-lah
Two syllables, first stressed. Finnish gives both vowels full value.
Nicknames for Maila
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
- 1974
- Most girls named
- 202270 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2530reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- −6.7%42 in 2025, from 45
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.
Maila in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Maila in Finnish — same name
- Maija in Finnish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Hawaii.
Mailas among us
people named Maila are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 38,268 born in 2025 was named Maila
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Maila
- #3577
- Maila on the 2025 chart
- #763
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Maila went to 42 girls in 2025, but Mayla, Maylah and Mailah are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 197, which makes it the 763rd most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,814 places above the chart.
- Mayla115
- Maila42
- Maylah31
- Mailah9
About 1 girl in 8,159 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 38,268 for Maila itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Emmanuelle test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Maila's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Emmanuelle climbed just as high around 1998, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Emmanuelle's path sketches the road Maila is walking now.
Maila 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
Where Maila is headed
Maila should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Maila beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Maila in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Five letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- Mai and Mila are both usable short forms with lives of their own.
- Open vowels make it easy to say in most languages.
- Mila and Maila are close enough to be confused constantly.
- There is no single meaning, so the honest answer names several traditions.
- In Finnish, maila is also the ordinary word for a bat or racket, which Finns will notice.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Maila
Feminine · #3577 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mailas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Maila are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Maila?
- Maila is one of 4 recorded spellings. Mayla is the more common one — 115 births in 2025 against 42 for Maila.
- How popular is the name Maila in 2025?
- Maila ranks #3577 among US girl names in 2025, with 42 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Maila?
- About 1 in every 38,268 US girls born in 2025 was named Maila — 42 in all.
- Will my child share the name Maila with classmates?
- Maila will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Maila
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Delphine#3577 · Evelyne#3577 · Ellanor#3577 · Gwenevere#3577 · Lian#3577 · Katya#3577 · Kolby#3577 · Cherry#3577
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Maila? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Maila and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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