Comments
Meaning
Usage
Pronunciation
Famous
Impression
Other
Also Tongan.
5
5
I love Hawaiian names. They're always so pretty.
10
10
My little sister's name is Malia and she loves it! Please respect this name because she is respectful!
3
3
I love this name. I named my only daughter this after the famous Hawaii surfer Malia Manuel she is a powerful, strong, and amazing woman and this has made my daughter the smartest! Wish my dad could have met her, he would be proud- he knew Malia Manuel.
7
7
You'd think this would be easy enough to pronounce.
If you're confused, it rhymes with Maria.
It does not rhyme with Mariah, Somalia, or Malaysia.
As a Malia, I can attest to this.
9
If you're confused, it rhymes with Maria.
It does not rhyme with Mariah, Somalia, or Malaysia.
As a Malia, I can attest to this.
9
My name is Malia and by the way, it’s beautiful.
7
7
I LOVE this name! Though I would spell it "Maliyah". I actually made this name up with my mind because I wanted something that rhymed with "Aaliyah". Didn't know until a little while earlier that this name was already used. Thought it was unique; something I created. Oh well, still a great name.
3
3
Hawaiian form of Mary.
6
6
Gorgeous name. I don't know why the religious aspect bugs people.
6
6
Ditto kayisforkeen, love it. Very light and free spirited kinda name.
3
3
I never thought it would be Hawaiian, but Malia is awesome. I consider it much more interesting than Maria, and it loses the religious association for many with just one letter.
1
1
Sad to see a lot of misinformation here about my name. Malia is not the same as Melia. They are different names and are not pronounced the same in the Hawaiian phonetical alphabet. Malia means Mary, and nothing else. Any other interpretation is not Hawaiian. Any other spellings are also not interchangeable in Hawaiian culture. MAH-LEAH is the correct pronunciation. Very happy Obama has brought my very old family name back! Feel free to direct any other Hawaiian name questions here. If I can't answer it, my 90 year old Hawaiian grandmother who still speaks the language would be happy to help. Or contact Kamehameha Schools where the language is still taught instead of relying on these incorrect translations. [noted -ed]
2
2
Malia Ann Obama is the oldest daughter of Barack Obama, the U.S. Senator from Illinois who was elected president of the United States on 4 November 2008.
3
3
I see so many little girls with this name now, or variants of it. I guess it's because of Malia Obama. I think it's an okay name.
2
2
In Kawena Pukui's dictionary, one of the most respected and comprehensive Hawaiian dictionaries, Malie is sometimes spelled Malia, depending on the island. A common fishing term, 'Malia,' is widely recognized to talk about glassy seas, especially in Kaua'i. While Malia is also a translation of Maria, that likely happened post contact and the original meaning being calm seas. [noted -ed]
5
5
The name Malia (pronounced mah-LEE-ah) is not indigenous to the Hawaiian language and is in fact as the entry states a translation of "Mary" or "Maria" using the available letters in the modern Hawaiian Alphabet which substitutes the letter "L" for the letter "R" (since the letter R is absent from the Hawaiian Alphabet.)
It's a beautiful name and one that happens to be my wife's name (she's part Hawaiian and we were both born and raised here in the islands).
4
It's a beautiful name and one that happens to be my wife's name (she's part Hawaiian and we were both born and raised here in the islands).
4
I can never see the name Malia without thinking of Lamia, the child-eating demon from mythology and literature.
-8
-8
I can't be the only one who, for the longest time, assumed this name rhymed with words like "Australia" and "regalia." (My second guess would have been that it rhymed with "Somalia.") Is there any valid reason to give your daughter a novelty name whose pronunciation is so ambiguous? Isn't that just an added burden throughout her life?
-9
-9
"Malia" is the Italian word for a witch's curse. It derives from the Latin word "malus," meaning "evil."
7
7
My godfather is Hawaiian, so I'm familiar with some of the traditional names, like Kanani, Leilani, and Kalella (not on this site--Hawaiian form of Cheryl, as far as I know). This, however, is my favorite one, and I've only just come across it. It's beautiful, that's the only way I can describe it.
3
3
It looks like Malaria, not a pretty name.
-14
-14
I have a feeling this name will quickly become more popular, considering that Obama was elected President. Obama has a daughter named Malia.
2
2
I really like this name now, though it had to grow on me a bit. My niece is named this in honor of her grandmas Marcea and Lisa. The name Malia has such a pretty sound to it. My niece is such a sweet little girl, her name fits her well. Her nicknames are Leah, Mia, May and Ali.
2
2
Malia Obama is one of Barack Obama's daughters.
4
4
Malia is not the Hawaiian form of Mary. It means calm and peaceful.
3
3
You say Malia like ma-leah. I cannot tell you the many different ways that people try to say my name. It's really annoying. Malia means star of the sea and also calm waters. Not dolphin. And Melia is a flower.
2
2
This is a beautiful name, one of my future daughters. It's pronounced mah-LEE-ah. NOT molly-ah. That's Maleah.
6
6
I've also heard it pronounced molly-ah.
0
0
Malia is Hawaiian for dolphin.
-2
-2
I don't know where BethanyE and sschilling99 were getting their information, but I'm sorry to say the Hawaiian meanings above are incorrect. Malia is the Hawaiian word for "maybe". (If you don't believe me, go ahead and check it in any Hawaiian-English dictionary. There are several online.) Sschilling99 was thinking of a slightly different word, "mālie", that means "peaceful". I'm not sure what BethanyE had in mind (maybe the word "mahimahi" for "dolphin fish"?), but "nai'a" is the Hawaiian word for "dolphin". The anonymous comment that it means "witch's curse" in Italian is correct, though I suspect that's not the intended meaning of the name, just an unfortunate side effect. For that reason, you probably wouldn't find anyone named Malia in Italy (unless her parents considered her a curse).
10
10
Also spelled Melia.
0
0
I love this name. I named my Daughter this but I also respelled it. I spell it Maliah and my husband wants it spelled Maliyah.
-8
-8
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