Malia

A Hawaiian form of Mary, used as a given name with a soft, flowing three-syllable rhythm.

Malia is a feminine given name used in Hawaiian-language and Hawaiian cultural contexts, and it’s widely recognized beyond Hawaiʻi as well. It has a smooth, vowel-forward sound and a clear three-syllable rhythm, which makes it easy to say and hard to mishear in conversation. In naming references, Malia is commonly described as the Hawaiian form of Mary. Because Mary has a long history across languages (often connected to Mary/Mariam traditions), sources don’t always present a single, simple literal meaning for every derived form; many families choose Malia primarily for the established cultural form and the sound. Pronunciation is often mah-LEE-ah in English, with the middle syllable taking the stress. If you’re writing it with Hawaiian diacritics, you may also see the form Mālia; for everyday documents, Malia is the most common Latin-script spelling, and the nickname Lia is a natural short form.

Etymology: Commonly described as the Hawaiian form of Mary; as with many Mary-derived forms, the deeper linguistic meaning depends on the underlying Mary/Mariam tradition and source.