# Malaga (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/malaga/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Arabic |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 619 |
| US rank (2010) | 36,204 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 498,781 people |
| Change since 2000 | +82% (341 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmæləɡə/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Spanish Málaga, from Arabic مَالَقَة (mālaqa), from Latin Malaca, from Phoenician 𐤌𐤋𐤊 (mlk /⁠Málaka/ or /Malake⁠/) of uncertain origin but possibly derived from Proto-West Semitic *milḥ- (“salt”). The American places are from the Spanish city. The surname is also sometimes derived via Polish Malaga.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Malaga in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 21% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 66% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 12% |

## Similar surnames

Malak, Mills, Miles, Malik, Myles, Mullis, Mulcahy, Mulkey, Mielke, Malek, Milazzo, Moles.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.