| Sana | Malika | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Radiance, brilliance, splendor | queen |
| Origin | arabic | arabic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | sah-NAH | mah-LEE-kah |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1923 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2022 (180) | 1996 (183) |
| In 2025 | 151 | 0 |
| Trend | Rising | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Sana | Malika |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 860 | 459 |
| 2010s | 1,222 | 729 |
| 2000s | 1,186 | 740 |
| 1990s | 888 | 1,377 |
| 1980s | 478 | 813 |
| 1970s | 142 | 819 |
| 1960s | 43 | 30 |
| 1950s | 39 | 0 |
| 1940s | 5 | 0 |
| 1920s | 10 | 0 |
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.
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 is more popular than Malika today: about 151 US babies were given the name Sana in 2025, compared with 0 named Malika.
Sana means Radiance, brilliance, splendor (arabic origin), while Malika means queen (arabic origin).
In US records, Sana first appears in 1923 and Malika in 0, so Malika has the longer recorded history.