The name Malachi is of Hebrew origin and means "messenger of God". It is derived from the Hebrew word "mal'akhi", which is a combination of the words "mal'ach" meaning messenger, and "Yah" which refers to God. The name Malachi is featured in the Old Testament of the Bible as the name of one of the twelve minor prophets.
Malachi was born into a family of priests during the time of the Babylonian captivity. His prophecies were written around 430 BCE, after the return from exile and the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. Malachi's prophecy focused on themes such as the corruption of the priesthood, the importance of tithing, and the coming day of judgment.
The name Malachi was initially more common among Jewish communities but gained popularity among Christians due to its biblical association. Today, it is considered a unisex name but is still more commonly given to boys.
In literature and arts, Malachi has been used as a character's name in various works such as the novel "Malachi" by Gary Shteyngart and the video game series "Gears of War". However, it is most notably associated with the Book of Malachi in the Bible.
Based on the provided statistics, we can analyze the trends and popularity of the name Malachi in the United States from 1880 to 2023.
From 1880 to around 1970, the number of births with the name Malachi fluctuated between a low of 5 births per year to a high of 35 births in 1974. The popularity of the name remained relatively stable and low during this period.
Starting from 1975, there was a significant increase in the number of births named Malachi. In 1975 alone, there were 53 births, marking a substantial jump from previous years. This trend continued throughout the late 1970s and into the 1980s, with the number of births per year consistently increasing.
The peak popularity of the name Malachi occurred in the early to mid-1990s. In 1993, there were 247 births, which increased to 271 births in 1994 and peaked at 359 births in 1995. This period marked a significant rise in popularity for the name.
However, after reaching its peak, the popularity of Malachi began to decline. From around 2006 onwards, the number of annual births with the name started to decrease steadily, falling below 300 births per year by 2012.
Between 2012 and 2022, the popularity of Malachi remained relatively stable, fluctuating between approximately 2300 to 2600 births per year. The most recent data from 2023 shows a slight increase to 2466 births.
In total, over the period from 1880 to 2023, there were 60556 births with the name Malachi in the United States. This demonstrates that while Malachi has experienced periods of increased popularity, it has generally remained a relatively uncommon name throughout history.