| Malika | Sana | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | queen | Radiance, brilliance, splendor |
| Origin | arabic | arabic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | mah-LEE-kah | sah-NAH |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1923 |
| Peak year | 1996 (183) | 2022 (180) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 151 |
| Trend | Vintage | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Malika | Sana |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 459 | 860 |
| 2010s | 729 | 1,222 |
| 2000s | 740 | 1,186 |
| 1990s | 1,377 | 888 |
| 1980s | 813 | 478 |
| 1970s | 819 | 142 |
| 1960s | 30 | 43 |
| 1950s | 0 | 39 |
| 1940s | 0 | 5 |
| 1920s | 0 | 10 |
Arabic 'malika' is the feminine of 'malik', meaning 'queen', from the same Semitic root m-l-k. A literal 'queen' name across the Arabic-speaking world.
Sana (سناء, sana') derives from the root s-n-w/s-n-y and means 'radiance, brilliance, splendour'. It should be distinguished from the unrelated Arabic word sana ('year') and from Sana'a, the Yemeni capital.
Sana is more popular than Malika today: about 151 US babies were given the name Sana in 2025, compared with 0 named Malika.
Malika means queen (arabic origin), while Sana means Radiance, brilliance, splendor (arabic origin).
In US records, Malika first appears in 0 and Sana in 1923, so Malika has the longer recorded history.