Boys' name · since 1880
Mal
343 babies named Mal in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1950. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #9,866 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #8,915 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 343
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
343 babies have been named Mal since 1880, making it today's #8915 boys' name.
Social Security Administration records show Mal recorded 343 times among boys since 1880, holding rank #8915 nationally today, ahead of 36% of boys, peaking in the 1950s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #9,866 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #8,915 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 343 born since 1880
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Mal ranks #9,866 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #8,915 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 343 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.
- #9,866 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #8,915 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 343
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Mal's 343 recorded births place it above 78.29% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Mal compares
343 48th percentile among 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Mal's all-time total is 7% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Mal | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 343 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 13 | 34 | 22,252 |
Mal's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Mal's full recorded timeline at 1949, 52% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 48% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1883, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1950 peak of 13 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Mal popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1950)
- 13
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Mal by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (84 births, 24% of the file).
1950s was Mal's strongest decade.
84 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 24% of all-time use.
Mal births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 12
1880s
12 births
- 1910s 30
1910s
30 births
- 1920s 16
1920s
16 births
- 1930s
1930s
42 births
- 1940s
1940s
69 births
- 1950s
1950s
84 births
- 1960s
1960s
39 births
- 2000s 5
2000s
5 births
- 2010s 12
2010s
12 births
- 2020s
2020s
34 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 84 births (24% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Mal's data
- Mal's usage has stayed within range of its 1950s decade-level peak (84 total births) through the 2020s (34) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Mal
Nearby Names Like Mal
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Mal
Compare Mal side by side: Mal vs Malcolm Mal vs Malachi Mal vs Malik
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Mal
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Mal: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1950)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Mal draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.