Merry Christmas Eve! If you’re anticipating a blessed event of your own, you might be thinking about a seasonal baby name.
According to our poll, readers were most curious about Malachi.
Malachi was an Old Testament prophet who foretold the coming of Christ. This makes it perfectly seasonal but nicely subtle, too. And with the resurgence in Biblical boys’ names, Malachi doesn’t sound too extreme. In fact, he ranked a popular #155 in the US last year.
The Hebrew mal’akh means messenger. While we’ve traditionally interpreted Malachi as a moniker, most Biblical scholars suggest that’s not the case. It’s more of a title, and the author’s identity is open to debate. Some suggest that Ezra wrote the Book of Malachi. Others contend that Malachi was more than one person.
Nevertheless, Malachi has become a moniker, discovered during the Protest Reformation search for lesser-known Biblical appellations.
Parents will also find the name in the historical record:
- St. Malachy lived in the early 1000s in Armagh, an ancient city in Northern Ireland. As Archbishop of Armagh, he promoted reforms and established monasteries.
- Two High Kings of Ireland were called Malachy. The first lived in the 800s and the second about 200 years later.
While this makes Malachy seem like an appealing Irish heritage pick, it’s important to note that Malachy was simply the preferred Latinised version of Máel.
Both the “y” and “i” endings are equally valid, but Malachi is the more common version today. That said, respellings of this name abound. In the US, Malakai and Malaki both rank in the Top 1000, at #709 and #789 respectively. Malakai likely appeals to parents seeking a formal name for the popular, but unrelated, Kai.
You might also stumble on Malachai, but that spelling conjures up Halloween rather than Christmas. In Stephen King’s 1977 short story Children of the Corn, Malachai was one of the murderous kids worshipping “He Who Walks Behind the Rows” in rural Nebraska.
While that wouldn’t seem like much inspiration for a name’s revival, Malachi’s rise begins shortly after Children of the Corn became a movie in 1984. He’d often appeared at the upper reaches of the US rankings in the 19th century, disappearing after 1910. In 1987, he reappeared at #993. A decade later, he was in the Top 500.
While this probably has more to do with the trend favoring Biblical names in general, we suspect that many parents are familiar with Malachi because they heard him in the darkness of a movie theater. (After all, Regan rose following the big screen success of The Exorcist.) If that’s the case, the name could get another bump next year. A remake of Children of the Corn is slated for television in 2009.
But back to the holidays at hand. Malachi wrote to encourage his fellow Israelites to reform their lax, unobservant ways and promising the coming of a messiah: ”Return to me, and I will return to you.”
For parents hoping for a spiritual choice with a current sound, Malachi could work quite well.
Yeah, I’d lump this one in with Ezekiel, Josiah, Ezra, and Elijah. It’s just too religious sounding. It seems to be a name that an evangelist might choose for a child. It’s so not me.
Malachi’s cool. He doesn’t bothe me any, really. But I do prefer the lighter tones of Malachy. They’re pronounced differently too. Malachi is mal-a kai, malachy is mal-ah-key. I don’t know why I prefer Malachy but I do.
Back to Malachi. He’s cool. Really cool. And while I think he’s too cool for me, I’d love to see more of him on other people’s kids. He’s three syllable awesomeness. He’s got solid history behind him, he’s strong & handsome too. What’s not to love? Malachi gets a solid :thumbsup: from me!
Lola, you’re right! I’m guessing the difference is about accents – Malachy is preferred in Ireland, thanks to the saint and the kings. (Frank McCourt’s brother is Malachy.) So they give it a “kee” while we say “ky.” But that’s just a guess – I hadn’t realized there was a difference until you pointed it out. (I’ll have to ask my Irish neighbor!)
Children of the Corn scared the pants off me, and there’s one part where the name “Malachai” is growled. Honestly, even SAYING this name gives me the shivers.
See, I cut my teeth on “Nosferatu”, “The Hand” (Now, THAT scared me to pieces!) and “The Abominable Dr. Phibes ” So “Children of the Corn” was more fun than scare for me. But then, I love Horror and find myself becoming a bit of a snob about it as I age. Blood & guts aren’t scary, so slasher films are not horror to me. Scare me without grossing me out and you’ll have a fan for life!
The last Stephen King to scare the pants off me? “It”. And I swear that was his best piece of work, ever.
I’m always shocked to think of Malachi’s current rank of the SSA, though not because I don’t like it. I do like it! I assume the name would sound too much for most people, similar to Another’s feelings on it. Then again Elijah is around #30 and Josiah a little over #100 if memory serves. Malachi is closer in tone to Ezekiel or Gideon for me. Elijah, Josiah, and Ezra sound much more mainstream IMO. That could be because my nephew is Elijah, my grandfather was Josiah, and my son is Ezra, I suppose.
Lola, you’re brave! I’m freaked out by commercials for scary movies. Though I go see them anyway.
Photoquilty, I wonder if parents who choose the names really are more religious than most, or if they’re just attracted to the sounds? We’re Catholic, and I know other Catholic families opting for obscure saints’ names – but it’s not about faith as much as it is about the quest for an unusual name that they can explain.
And Rocking Fetal, it’s funny how that happens. Good friends of mine named their daughter Kayla fairly early in the trend, and I’ve always found the name tolerable.
I’m most familiar with this name from Frank McCourt’s book and did not know if it was Mala-kai or mala-kee. I like either but prefer Mala-kee. I don’t find the sound too ultra-religious.
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Malachi is good as long as you don’t visit Greece. The name comes awfully close to malaka and that’s not good.