Mali
Feminine · “jasmine”
Mali is given to both — 1,406 girls and 89 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Mali is a country, a Thai word for jasmine and a Welsh form of Mary — three unconnected things at the same four letters.
How old is the name Mali?
Mali first appears in US birth records in 1967 — 58 years ago. The typical Mali alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 1,400 people named Mali are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mali most popular?
Mali peaked in 2019, reaching #2681 nationally. Today it ranks #3903, 1,222 places below that high. See the whole 2019 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Mali
Ours, offered as ours. The Thai reading is the prettiest: mali is the jasmine, and a garland of it is what Thai children give their mothers on Mother's Day, which is why the flower stands for maternal love there specifically. The Mali Empire, meanwhile, was one of the largest states in the world in the fourteenth century, and its ruler's pilgrimage to Mecca is said to have disrupted the price of gold in Egypt for years. Two of the finest facts available for four letters.
Meaningscholars disagree
jasmine; or Mary
Thai mali is the jasmine flower, borrowed from Sanskrit mallika. Welsh Mali is a form of Mary. The West African republic took its name from the medieval Mali Empire, whose own name is variously read. All three are documented and none is the source of the others.
Pronouncing Mali
MAH-lee
Two syllables, first stressed. Thai gives both syllables tones English does not carry.
Nicknames for Mali
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
- 1967
- Most girls named
- 200865 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2681reached in 2019
- Change vs 2024
- −14.0%37 in 2025, from 43
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.
Mali in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- มะลิ in Thai — transliteration
- Mali in Welsh — related form
- Mallika in Sanskrit — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Texas, California.
Malis among us
people named Mali are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 43,440 born in 2025 was named Mali
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Mali
- #3903
- Mali on the 2025 chart
- #906
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Mali went to 37 girls in 2025, but Mally and Malli are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 54, which makes it the 906th most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,997 places above the chart.
- Mali37
- Mally12
- Malli5
About 1 girl in 29,764 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 43,440 for Mali 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 Quianna test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Mali's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Quianna climbed just as high around 1986, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Quianna's path sketches the road Mali is walking now.
Mali 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 Mali is headed
Mali 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.
Mali beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mali in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three real traditions produce it, each with something good behind it.
- Four letters and two syllables, about as easy to write as a name gets.
- Open vowels make it easy to say in most languages.
- The country is the first association for most Americans.
- Thai is tonal and the tone is lost entirely in English spelling.
- Mali, Molly and Mally are all close in an English ear.
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Mali
Feminine · #3903 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Malis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Mali are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Mali?
- Mali is the most-used spelling in US records — 37 of the 54 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Mally and Malli.
- How popular is the name Mali in 2025?
- Mali ranks #3903 among US girl names in 2025, with 37 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mali?
- About 1 in every 43,440 US girls born in 2025 was named Mali — 37 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mali with classmates?
- Mali will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mali
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kay#3903 · Sonja#3903 · Truth#3903 · Gisela#3903 · Kaylene#3903 · Bronwyn#3903 · Cristal#3903 · Georgianna#3903
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mali? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mali 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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