| Yael | Malka | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | ibex, mountain goat | queen |
| Origin | hebrew | hebrew |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | yah-EL | MAHL-kah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1954 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2022 (166) | 2024 (264) |
| In 2025 | 127 | 0 |
| Trend | Rising | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Yael | Malka |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 842 | 1,379 |
| 2010s | 1,117 | 1,755 |
| 2000s | 884 | 1,299 |
| 1990s | 605 | 856 |
| 1980s | 522 | 570 |
| 1970s | 359 | 353 |
| 1960s | 154 | 164 |
| 1950s | 18 | 110 |
| 1940s | 0 | 14 |
From Hebrew ya'el, 'ibex' — a nimble, sure-footed wild mountain goat. The same name as the heroine Jael, who killed Sisera (Judges 4-5). A concrete noun; the 'strength of God' gloss seen on some sites is not the standard derivation.
Hebrew 'malkah' (מלכה) means 'queen', from the Semitic root m-l-k. The Aramaic form appears in the Book of Daniel. Common as a traditional Jewish/Yiddish name.
Yael is more popular than Malka today: about 127 US babies were given the name Yael in 2025, compared with 0 named Malka.
Yael means ibex, mountain goat (hebrew origin), while Malka means queen (hebrew origin).
In US records, Yael first appears in 1954 and Malka in 0, so Malka has the longer recorded history.