Malayah is a modern American spelling that sits between Malaya and Malia. Malia is the Hawaiian form of Mary, while Malaya is the old name of the Malay Peninsula and, in Tagalog, a word meaning "free". The spelling with -yah follows the pattern of names like Aaliyah and Maliyah. Malayah entered the US top 1000 in 2019, peaked at number 842 in 2022 and has eased back to number 1084 in 2025.