Maile
Feminine · “the maile vine”
Maile is a Hawaiian vine used for the most formal kind of lei — an open garland of leaves rather than a closed circle of flowers.
How old is the name Maile?
Maile first appears in US birth records in 1919 — 106 years ago. The typical Maile alive today was born around 1998, making them about 27 years old. About 3,500 people named Maile are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Maile most popular?
Maile peaked in 2003, reaching #1365 nationally. Today it ranks #4265, 2,900 places below that high. See the whole 2003 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Maile
The maile lei is not a flower garland: it is a length of the fragrant vine worn open at the ends, and it is the form used for the most serious occasions — weddings, graduations, openings. In place of cutting a ribbon, Hawaiian ceremonies untie a maile lei. The plant is associated with Laka, the goddess of hula. It is used as a personal name in Hawaii and appears in American records from there.
Meaning
the maile vine
From Hawaiian maile, a fragrant twining shrub of the genus Alyxia; the leaves are used for lei made open-ended rather than closed, which is the form used at weddings and formal occasions.
Pronouncing Maile
MY-lay
Two syllables, first stressed; every vowel is sounded in Hawaiian, so the final e is not silent.
Nicknames for Maile
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
- 1919
- Most girls named
- 2006145 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1365reached in 2003
- Change vs 2023
- +10.0%33 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.
Maile in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Maile in Hawaiian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Hawaii.
Mailes among us
people named Maile are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 48,705 born in 2025 was named Maile
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Maile
- #4265
- Maile on the 2025 chart
- #676
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Maile went to 33 girls in 2025, but Maylee and Mailee are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 293, which makes it the 676th most-given girls’ name of the year — 3,589 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 5,486 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 48,705 for Maile 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 Laryssa test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Maile's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Laryssa climbed just as high around 1968, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Laryssa's path sketches the road Maile is walking now.
Maile 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 Maile is headed
Maile should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Maile beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Maile in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning tied to a real plant with a genuinely specific ceremonial role.
- Five letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- Open vowels make it easy to say in most languages.
- English readers will say MAIL, silencing the final vowel, which is wrong.
- It is a Hawaiian word, and Hawaiian families have views about its use by outsiders.
- Maile, Miley and Mailey are all close in an American ear.
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What they receive
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Maile
Feminine · #4265 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mailes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,500 people named Maile are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Maile?
- Maile is one of 3 recorded spellings. Maylee is the more common one — 245 births in 2025 against 33 for Maile.
- How popular is the name Maile in 2025?
- Maile ranks #4265 among US girl names in 2025, with 33 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Maile?
- About 1 in every 48,705 US girls born in 2025 was named Maile — 33 in all.
- Will my child share the name Maile with classmates?
- Maile will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Maile
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hyacinth#4265 · Halina#4265 · Michal#4265 · Sadia#4265 · Zahava#4265 · Maiah#4265 · Daysi#4265 · Corrie#4265
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Maile? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Maile and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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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