boy's name
Malachi
MAL-a-ky
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Boy
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 73,417
the United States
#134
2025 births
Malachi is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "my messenger." It names the last book of the Old Testament — and it may not be a personal name at all, but a description of the anonymous author.
- Malachi is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 2006, when 2,790 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,227 babies in the United States is given this name.
Malachi over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 58 |
| 1890s | 30 |
| 1900s | 51 |
| 1910s | 156 |
| 1920s | 185 |
| 1930s | 172 |
| 1940s | 183 |
| 1950s | 155 |
| 1960s | 108 |
| 1970s | 390 |
| 1980s | 746 |
| 1990s | 3,570 |
| 2000s | 20,892 |
| 2010s | 24,685 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 14,667 |
What Malachi means
Malachi means my messenger, from malakh, messenger, with the possessive ending. Because malakh is also the Hebrew word for angel, the name is often given as my angel, though messenger is the primary sense.
Where Malachi comes from
Malachi transliterates the Hebrew Malakhi, from malakh, messenger or angel, with the first-person suffix. The Book of Malachi closes the Old Testament, and scholars have long noted that the book's opening line uses the same word as a description — the burden of the word of the Lord by my messenger — which suggests the author may have been anonymous and the title mistaken for a name. Separately, the Irish Máel Sechnaill was anglicized as Malachy, a genuinely unrelated name meaning devotee of Saint Sechnall, which is why Irish bearers and Hebrew bearers share a spelling by accident.
Malachi in use
Our data shows Malachi stable, peaking in 2006, and it first appears in our records in 1880. It is one of very few names on this site that may originate in a scribal misreading rather than in an act of naming — Imogen, from a printing error, is the other clear case.
How popular is Malachi?
In 2025, Malachi was given to 2,701 babies in the United States, ranking #134 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Malachi is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Malachi
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Malachi also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Malachi over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Malachi
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Malachi in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Malachi
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Malachi — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Malachi
What does the name Malachi mean?
Malachi means "my messenger," from the Hebrew malakh, which also means angel.
Was Malachi a real person?
Possibly not. The book's own opening uses the word as a description, so the author may have been anonymous and the title read as a name.
Are Malachi and Malachy the same name?
No. Malachy anglicizes the Irish Máel Sechnaill and is unrelated — the two share a spelling by accident.
How popular is the name Malachi?
In 2025, Malachi was given to 2,701 babies in the United States, ranking #134 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Malachi a girl's or a boy's name?
Malachi is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
When was Malachi most popular?
Malachi peaked in 2006, when 2,790 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Malachi?
Malachi is usually shortened to Mal and Kai.
Is Malachi a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Malachi currently ranks #134 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.