Malakai
Malakai was the 213th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,657 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 278 places. More babies were named Malakai in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning my messenger (Pacific form of Malachi) · Fijian, Tongan, Hebrew
Say it MAL-uh-ky /ˈmæləkaɪ/
- Rank in 2025
- #213 boys, up 72 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,657boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20251,657 babies
- Total since 1880
- 17,887babies recorded
What does the name Malakai mean?
Malakai is the Fijian and Tongan form of Malachi, according to Wiktionary, and Wikipedia lists it as a spelling of the prophet's name borne by many Pacific Islanders. Malachi is Hebrew Mal'akhi, 'my messenger', from mal'akh, 'messenger, angel'; DMNES and Wiktionary agree. Wiktionary records Malakai as a boy's name of modern usage, and Malachi and Malachai are the more common English spellings of the same name.
מַלְאָכִי (Biblical Hebrew, “Mal'akhi, my messenger”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Malachi, Malachai, Malaki.
See also: Hebrew names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Malakai', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Malakai', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Malachi', Durham University / The DMNES Editors
Nicknames for Malakai
The usual nicknames for Malakai are Kai. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Malakai in the last five years, 300 were named Kai, against 578 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kai · also for Malachi, Makai | Modern | #93 | 23,060 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Malakais go by each one.
Malakai popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 57 since 2006.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #213 | 1,657 |
| 2020 | #285 | 1,187 |
| 2010 | #574 | 443 |
| 2000 | #2,899 | 31 |
| 1990 | #6,891 | 7 |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Malakai, counting every spelling?
Malakai is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #230 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #213 for Malakai on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,662 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malakai | 1,657 | #213 | 7,697 |
| Malacai | 5 | #13,204 | 36 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Malakai?
1,657 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Malakai (0.46 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Malakai born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 5 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Malakai.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Malakai?
About 17,700 people born in the US named Malakai are alive today, with a median age of 7; half are between 3 and 12. That makes Malakai a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Malakai by state
How common Malakai was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Hawaii (5.2×), New Mexico (2.4×), North Dakota (2.0×), Alaska (1.9×), Oregon (1.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Rhode Island, Delaware, New Jersey.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Malakai: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Malakai, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Malakai · Sibling names for Malakai
Questions about the name Malakai
What does Malakai mean?
Malakai means “my messenger (Pacific form of Malachi)” (Fijian, Tongan, Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Malakai?
Malakai was the 213th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,657 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 278 places. More babies were named Malakai in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Malakai a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Malakai in the US.
Where is Malakai most popular?
In 2021–2025, Malakai was most common in Hawaii (4.64 per 1,000 boys), followed by New Mexico and North Dakota.