Malin

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 27 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Malin is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Hindi given name13K records spelled Malin12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, Sweden, United States, Norway

  Languages: Hindi, Bangla, Urdu

  Also written মলিন, Molin, Mullin, মালিন, মুলিন

• a separate given name8.6K records spelled Malin6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, Sweden, United States, Norway

  Also written Mălin, Malīn, Malín, Målin, Mâlin

• French given name7.6K records spelled Malin9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Sweden, France, Norway, United States

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Malyn, Mâlin, Mălin, Mälin, Mǎlín

• Spanish given name7.3K records spelled Malin12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Sweden, United States, Brazil, Norway

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Mal-In, Málin, Maliñ, Mălin, Malín

62 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Malin is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, from the Germanic personal name Madalin, a short form of compound names with the initial element madal ‘council’.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, patronymic from maly, Serbian mali ‘small’; compare Maly.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, metronymic from the Yiddish female personal name Male (a back-formation from Malka as if it contained the Slavic diminutive suffix -ke) + the Slavic metronymic suffix -in.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, from the medieval female personal name Malin, a diminutive of Mall.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, habitational name from Malin, a place in Ukraine.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

IN naampy — India given names from state electoral rolls (in-rolls) — 71 years between 1920–2015. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Malin Craigb. 1875USAmerican politician (1875-1945)
• Malin Persson Giolitob. 1969SESwedish writer and lawyer
• Linn Berggrenb. 1970SEnot in their usual nameSwedish singer
• Malin Anderssonb. 1973SESwedish association football player
• Malin Moströmb. 1975SESwedish association football player
• Malin Åkermanb. 1978SESwedish actress (born 1978)
• Malin Crépinb. 1978SESwedish actress
• Dinah Nahb. 1980SEnot in their usual nameSwedish singer
• Malin Olssonb. 1982SESwedish singer, model and television presenter
• Malin Buskab. 1984SESwedish actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 612 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Malin?

We estimate roughly 63 thousand people bear Malin (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Malin have the most bearers?

We estimate about 50 thousand people bear Malin in Sweden, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled malin.

Where is Malin most common?

Malin is densest in Sweden, where the national register counts about 1 in 204 people carrying it.

How common is Malin compared with other names?

In Sweden, Malin is the 19th most common given name of 36,824 given names recorded there.

Is Malin a male or female name?

Malin is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Malin mean?

Recorded meaning: diminutive of Malle, a pet-name for Mary; first attested Malina 1212 Cur (Nt)