Malinda is a spelling variant of Melinda, a name created in 18th-century England from the Greek word meli, "honey", and the fashionable -inda ending seen in Belinda and Lucinda, so it is usually read as "honey" or "sweet one". It was a common name in the rural United States in the 19th century. Malinda stood at number 1596 in 2000, has drifted between about 2300 and 3300 over the past decade and ranks number 2881 in 2025 with 59 births.