| Safa | Malika | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Purity, clarity, serenity | queen |
| Origin | arabic | arabic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | sah-FAH | mah-LEE-kah |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2025 (249) | 1996 (183) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Rising | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Safa | Malika |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 984 | 459 |
| 2010s | 1,006 | 729 |
| 2000s | 627 | 740 |
| 1990s | 243 | 1,377 |
| 1980s | 71 | 813 |
| 1970s | 8 | 819 |
| 1960s | 0 | 30 |
Safa (صفا / صفاء, safa') derives from the root s-f-w and means 'purity, clarity, serenity'. It is also the name of Al-Safa, one of the two hills in Mecca (with Al-Marwah) between which pilgrims walk during the Hajj and Umrah.
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.
Safa and Malika are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Safa means Purity, clarity, serenity (arabic origin), while Malika means queen (arabic origin).
In US records, Safa first appears in 0 and Malika in 0, so Safa has the longer recorded history.