Meaning of the nameMalena
- Female
- Latin origin
- Aramaic origin
- Ma-le-na
Malena is a female name that Behind the Name describes as a short form of Magdalena, 'of Magdala'.
Meaning
“short form of Magdalena, 'of Magdala'”
Source: Behind the Name: Malena · Behind the Name: Magdalene
- People (2022)
- 2,264
- Rank in Brazil
- #4,705
- Median age
- 28 years
- 2010 Census
- 2,323
- people
Malena in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Malena, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1990s (1,388 people).
2,257 women 0 men
Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.
Where the name Malena is most common
States with the highest share of people named Malena in the population, in the 2022 Census.
- Pará 0.004%
- Bahia 0.003%
- Rio de Janeiro 0.001%
- Minas Gerais 0.001%
- São Paulo 0.001%
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| Bahia | 424 | 0.003% |
| Pará | 359 | 0.004% |
| São Paulo | 243 | 0.001% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 202 | 0.001% |
| Minas Gerais | 133 | 0.001% |
| Amazonas | 97 | 0.003% |
| Maranhão | 94 | 0.001% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 91 | 0.001% |
| Pernambuco | 86 | 0.001% |
| Ceará | 72 | 0.001% |
| Santa Catarina | 66 | 0.001% |
| Espírito Santo | 55 | 0.001% |
| Goiás | 53 | 0.001% |
| Paraná | 45 | 0.000% |
| Paraíba | 30 | 0.001% |
| Amapá | 30 | 0.004% |
| Distrito Federal | 23 | 0.001% |
| Piauí | 22 | 0.001% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 21 | 0.001% |
| Alagoas | 21 | 0.001% |
| Sergipe | 19 | 0.001% |
| Tocantins | 19 | 0.001% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 16 | 0.001% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
About the name Malena
Behind the Name records Malena as a contracted form of Magdalena, used in Swedish and in Spanish, and adds that in Spanish it can also be a contracted form of María Elena; Wiktionary gives, for Spanish, Magdalena or María Elena as a possible origin. Magdalene comes from a title meaning 'of Magdala', a village whose name meant 'tower' in Aramaic, according to Behind the Name. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 2,264 people named Malena, with a median age of 28, and most were born in the 1990s. Proportionally, it is most common in Pará.
Sources
- Behind the Name: Malena · behindthename.com · meaning
- Behind the Name: Magdalene · behindthename.com · meaning
- Wiktionary: Malena (Spanish) · en.wiktionary.org · origin
Questions about the name Malena
What does the name Malena mean?
Malena means “short form of Magdalena, 'of Magdala'”, according to Behind the Name.
How many people are named Malena in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 2,264 people with the first name Malena, which ranks it number 4,705 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1990s.
Is Malena a boy's or a girl's name?
Malena is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 2,257 women and 0 men had this name (IBGE does not publish very small counts).
What is the origin of the name Malena?
Malena is a name of Latin and Aramaic origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.
In which Brazilian state is Malena most common?
Proportionally, in Pará: 0.004% of the state's population is named Malena (359 people), according to the 2022 Census.
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