indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Type Country
Usage Malay, English, Danish, German, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Romanian, Swedish, Filipino, Tagalog
Scripts مليسيا(Malay Jawi)
Pronounced Pron. mə-lay-SEE-ə(Malay) mə-leh-SEE-a(Malay) mə-LEH-syə(Malay) mə-LEH-shə(Malay) mə-LAY-zhə(English) ma-LIE-zya(German) ma-lie-SEE-ya(Indonesian) ma-LIE-sha(Indonesian) ma-LIE-see-ah(Swedish) [key·IPA]
Meaning & History
From the name of the Malay people combined with the Greek suffix σία (sia). The ethnic name itself is of uncertain origin. It may come from Melayu or Malayu, the name of an ancient Sumatran kingdom, itself possibly derived from Tamil மலை (malai) or Malayalam മല (mala) both meaning "hill, mountain" combined with Tamil ஊர் (ur) meaning "village, town". Alternately, it may be from Malay laju meaning "fast, speedy". This is the name of a country in Southeast Asia, which has been used since 1963.