Malakai
Torn between Malakai and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
variant spelling of Malachi, "my messenger"
The story
Malakai is Malachi spelled the way it sounds, and the respelling is the story. Malachi is the last prophet of the Hebrew Bible, my messenger; the K takes the guesswork out of the ending for American eyes, the same phonetic surgery that turned Carter into Karter and Chloe into Khloe. The operation is recent: the spelling barely existed in the nineties, each decade since has multiplied the one before, and this half-finished decade has already outrun the whole of the last. Malachi, Malakai and Malaki all chart separately, and the shared sound is far bigger than any single line. In our records the K spelling is overwhelmingly a boys' choice. The name Kai sits inside it, plain to see, though the record books treat the two as separate names. A prophet's name wearing this century's spelling: the message adapts, the messenger endures.
How popular is Malakai around the world?
In the United States, 8,914 babies were named Malakai between 2020 and 2025. In New Zealand, 42 boys named Malakai were registered in 2025.
Malakai is on the official records of the United States, New Zealand, South Australia, Canada, England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
United States
1 in 2,400
In the United States, 8,914 babies were named Malakai between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Malakai peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
New Zealand
1 in 1,400
In New Zealand, 42 boys named Malakai were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
South Australia
1 in 2,6002017
In South Australia, 7 boys were registered as Malakai in 2017.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 3,200
In Canada, 114 boys named Malakai were born in 2024, the 289th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 5,000
In England and Wales, 118 boys named Malakai were born in 2025, the 357th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Scotland
1 in 7,600
In Scotland, 6 boys named Malakai were registered in 2024, the 478th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Ireland
1 in 14,000
In Ireland, 4 boys named Malakai were born in 2025, the 676th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Argentina
last on record 2022
Malakai is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Austria
last on record 2023
Malakai is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Malakai is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Poland
last on record 2018
Malakai is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Puerto Rico
last on record 2024
Malakai is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 5 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Not on the record in Spain and Mexico City: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Malakai
Most people given the name Malakai in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Malakai deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Malakai truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Malakai fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Malakai fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Malakai to your family’s tree →