ðə skˈuːl wʌz nˈeɪmd mˈælɪjˌeɪdvə kˈɑːlɪdʒ ˈæftɚɹ ˈɑːɹhæt mˈælɪjˌeɪdvə, ðə lˈæst mˈɑːhə ˈɑːɹhæt θˈɜːɹoʊ ɪn bˈuːdɪst hˈɪstɚɹi hˌuː hæd ɡɹˈeɪt sˈaɪkɪk pˈaʊɚz ɐbhˌeɪneɪnɐlˈæbhi: ɪn sɪnhˈɑːlə:(si)ˈɐbʰiɡnɡnˌaːlaːbʰiː(en-us).
The school was named Maliyadeva College after Arhat Maliyadeva, the last Maha Arhat thero in Buddhist history who had great psychic powers (Abhijnanalabhi: in Sinhala:අභිඥ්ඥාලාභී).