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Girl · Germanic, through Portuguese
Mafalda
Say it: mah-FAHL-dah
Meaning
Portuguese and Italian form of Matilda, from Germanic maht 'might, strength' and hild 'battle'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
A Portuguese royal name since the 12th century; the comic strip by Quino made it famous in Latin America.
Its wave through time
Rare in the records
In the United States
- 1,279 babies given this name since 1902
- At its height in 1915, about 1 in 12,900 girls
- Fewer than 5 babies a year in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
| English | Matilda |
|---|---|
| German | Mathilde |
| Italian | Mafalda |
Famous bearers
- Mafalda of Portugal, princess and queen of Castile
- Mafalda, the Argentine comic-strip girl
- Mafalda of Savoy, first queen of Portugal
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Royal and noble genealogies
- Well-known works of literature
- Calendars of saints and name days
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.