Malaki

Malaki is an Americanized respelling of Malachi which is a name of Hebrew origin borne from the Bible. Malachi is named as one of the twelve Minor Prophets who lived in the early 5th century B.C. and is, in fact, the author of his own book (the last book of the Christian Old Testament aptly called “Malachi”). Malachi’s short four-chapter book calls upon the people of Israel to repent for their sins (general corruption, lackadaisical worship, social injustices, etc) or else face grave punishment in the upcoming “day of the Lord” – as the Lord says through Malachi: “Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.” (Malachi 3:18). Malachi is particularly important for his prophesies regarding Elijah’s return to the earth “before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes” (Malachi 4:5). Christians believe that John the Baptist (who prepared the way for Jesus Christ) is the fulfillment of this prophesy while Jews are still waiting for Elijah to usher in the day of the Messiah. The religiously stern Puritans adopted the name Malachi around the time of the Reformation and eventually brought it to the new colonies in America in the 17th century. In Hebrew “Mal'akhi” (מַלְאָכִי) appropriately means “my messenger” or “my angel” which is fitting since Malachi arguably delivered the ultimate message: the coming of a Messianic age. Malachi is a name recently rediscovered by American parents and it has shown some strong gains in usage since the turn of the 21st century. As a result of this revival interest in Malachi, a couple of modernized respellings have appeared on the Top 1000 list in the past few years: Malakai and Malaki.