| Malika | Zaina | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | queen | Beauty, beautiful |
| Origin | arabic | arabic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | mah-LEE-kah | ZY-nuh |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1996 (183) | 2025 (170) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Vintage | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Malika | Zaina |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 459 | 850 |
| 2010s | 729 | 1,229 |
| 2000s | 740 | 741 |
| 1990s | 1,377 | 264 |
| 1980s | 813 | 39 |
| 1970s | 819 | 0 |
| 1960s | 30 | 0 |
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.
Feminine form tied to Arabic زين (zayn) 'beauty, adornment', from the root z-y-n. Shares the same root as Zayn and the name Zaynab.
Malika and Zaina are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Malika means queen (arabic origin), while Zaina means Beauty, beautiful (arabic origin).
In US records, Malika first appears in 0 and Zaina in 0, so Malika has the longer recorded history.