Malalai

Syllable breakdown

Name meaning and origin

Origin

Pashto (Afghanistan)

Meaning

a Pashto feminine name meaning grief-stricken, sorrowful, or the grieving one, from the Pashto/Arabic root malal (ملال) meaning grief, sorrow, or heartache — a word used in Pashto and Dari poetry to describe the ache of longing or grief; the name is carried with great honour because of Malalai of Maiwand, the legendary Pashtun folk heroine who, during the Second Anglo-Afghan Battle of Maiwand in 1880, inspired the faltering Afghan forces by lifting her veil and using it as a banner when the flag-bearer fell, rallying the troops to defeat the British; Malalai was killed in the battle and became the greatest female national hero of Afghanistan, often called the Afghan Joan of Arc; in modern times the name was borne by Malala Yousafzai (a variant spelling) of Pakistan, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and education activist

Gender

female

Also spelled

Malala, Malalai