Malaysia is a place name turned girls' name, taken from the Southeast Asian country; the name is usually explained as "land of the Malays", with the Greek-style ending -ia that marks a country. Like Asia, India and Kenya it became a given name in the United States in the 1990s and 2000s, especially in African American families. Malaysia entered the US top 1000 in 2011, peaked at number 397 in 2014 and has eased back to number 958 in 2025.