Will baby girls get the name Maleficent?

Movie poster for "Maleficent"

Maleficent, everyone’s favorite Disney villain, is coming back to the big screen.

But not in an animated Sleeping Beauty sequel. In a live action movie. And she’ll be portrayed by Angelina Jolie, no less.

The movie, which is scheduled to be released in early 2014, will offer us a kinder view of the sinister Maleficent. This incarnation of the character is a “misunderstood sorceress who ultimately turns evil,” according to E! Online.

The name Maleficent can be traced back to the Latin word maleficus, meaning “wicked, vicious, criminal.” Fitting for an evil sorceress, but how about a baby?

Do you think we’ll see baby girls named Maleficent when the movie comes out?

Update, 5/7/2016: Maleficent has debuted in the SSA data! Five baby girls got the name in 2015. The film may have given the name Aurora a boost as well, though it’s hard to tell, as Aurora was already on the rise.

Image: © 2014 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

[Latest update: July 2023]

19 thoughts on “Will baby girls get the name Maleficent?

  1. My eldest daughter (born in 2003) is named Maleficent. This choice was made by my husband and I because in the movie, Sleeping Beauty, Aurora (who went by Briar Rose) marries Prince Phillip and my name is Rose and my husband’s name is Phillip. Yes, we considered Aurora but it is the name of a mortgage company as well as a car…and Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather just did not flow (also, we know and dislike people with the names Flora and Fauna). And while people aassume that children automatically take after the meaning of their name, my Maleficent is neither evil nor malicious! Also, when we contacted Disney for an offical name meaning, they said “Mischievous” is best suited. She loves her name and is proud to be named after the number 1 Disney villian! :-)

  2. @Rose: Interesting story. Thank you for sharing!

    Your Maleficent is literally the first human being I know of with the name.

    I don’t disagree with Disney’s definition of “mischievous,” though I think it’s a deceptively cute-sounding, as it overlooks less complimentary meanings.

    The root word here is malus, which means “bad, evil, wicked, injurious, destructive, mischievous, hurtful, ill-looking, ugly, deformed” (from Language Log).

  3. Well just saying I think it is an AWESOME name and I wish I was named maleficent it would be amazing. And it is definitely nothing to be ashamed of. :-)

  4. I’m planning on naming my daughter maleficent when I have one , I like the sound of it and it will be so unique right along with the other name I have planned . Plus in the 2014 movie , they show another side to her beautiful wickedness

  5. Omg that word is SOO annoying. (Muhwef)uh-cin is what it would sound like coming out of a toddler’s mouth. Yuck. Bleugh.

  6. My oldest daughter (born 1996) is named Maleficent. I personally adore the name, but I never thought I’d name my daughter it. When she was born I didn’t have a name ready, so she was discharged as Baby girl Whiteway. However her eyes were mesmerizing; emerald with flares of brown/hazel, and the name Maleficent wouldn’t leave my mind. So at 15 days old she was registered as Maleficent Lilah Whiteway. To this day, she still loves her name, and I don’t think I could have chosen a more suitable one. To the person who thinks it sounds silly coming out of the mouth of a toddler, it doesn’t. By the time she was 3 – 3+1/2, she could pronounce her name very well. She sounded so cute saying it, mal-eff-a-sin-t. The name isn’t that common, and I hope that just because a movie was made people don’t start naming their kids Maleficent as even I would find that odd. After 18 years of raising my girl, I have not come across another child – or adult – named Malecifent. As the names 4 syllables, it comes across as too long or strange for somle people, which is fair enough. When she was 7 she and her friends started using the nickname Mailie (pronounced mal-ee). Each to their own. I can’t imagine there suddenly being an influx of people naming their children this, if there was it would be quite hilarious.

  7. It’s pronounced “Ma-lef-i-cent” not “(Muhwef)uh-cin” and she has been able to say it properly since she was 2 yrs old. She absolutely ADORES her name and is proud of it, as are we for naming her Maleficent. It’s a powerful name for a powerful person, so no, it may not be well suited for the weak-hearted lol

  8. I named my daughter Maleficent and my parents (mainly speak Spanish) started calling her Malie (Maa-ly). I love that name. Yes she was born a month after the movie came out but I’ve had that name picked since I found out I was pregnant. Honestly I had a pick between Ursula and Maleficent. I wasn’t going to pick Ursula.

    I love my little Maleficent. I can’t think of a better name that suits her.

  9. I was thinking Jadis Maleficent for my future daughter and maybe she might prove that you don’t always have to associate a villains names with a negative connotation

  10. av named my 2 day old girl, Maleficent , coz it’s d name we picked 4 her evn b4 we cud know she’ll b a girl, d name sounds well, we r calling her in short malleh

  11. i know the meaning for a baby is strongest of them all or the most beautiful of them all

  12. While I actually like the sound of the word maleficent, I could never see it as a good choice for a name because of the actual definition (sorry Disney your ‘definition’ is just PR fiction). Maleficent means acting with evil intent and has been defined that way since it was first used in the late 1600’s. That’s why the name was originally chosen for the character.

    A similar sounding and far more appropriate word to use as a name would be “mellifluent” which is a synonym for mellifluous and means sweet-sounding or mellow.

    Sweet or evil. Seems pretty clear which attribute you’d want to have describe your child.

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