Malaria /mæ̀ləríə/ (female)

A favourite of aging goths who, one can only assume, never quite got over their obsession with the macabre, this name is particularly interesting in that it simply takes an existing word, “Malaria,” and alters its pronuncial structure to create something that resembles the word, “ballerina.” While most would argue that the name’s only possible ancestor is the word ‘malaria’ itself, many cite Maria and Melanie as heavy influences. As the 23rd most popular name in the country last year, Malaria is spreading like…

“Malaria says she’s vegan, but she eats meat all the time.”