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I grew up (in the US) with a Maleah. I guess that was a variant of Malia but sometimes wonder if it could be connected to Amalia, Mahalia, Melia, Leah, or Maliha https://www.behindthename.com/name/maliha/submitted, so it could theoretically be related to Arab immigrants, as an alternate transcription...

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Malea in the submitted section here is listed as a modern German/Swiss version of Malia. The entry is dated 2006.

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The Bump attributes it to trade between the Philippines & Switzerland (Switzerland is a top investor in the Philippines apparently) and a historical treaty between Switzerland and Hawaii. That does seem vague and random to me for it to get so popular, but soundwise, it is very close to the other top names, so I guess it's possible it caught on without a specific pop culture connection? The same The Bump article claimed it was influenced by Malaya. https://www.behindthename.com/name/malaya/submitted

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There's also an American electropop singer named Malea...not sure if Switzerland would have heard of her, but she did have a hit dance club type song 8ish years ago.

This message was edited 8/29/2023, 2:02 AM