The largest number of pathologists, historians and other researchers link up the name Maleshevo with the personal name that existed and on the basis of which the city got this name. According to the old peoples, the name Maleshevo is of Illyrian origin and comes from the words Mal – mountain and Maleshi–mountain area. Some of the scientists believe that the synonyms Malesh, Maleshevocome from old Slavic words Mal Les – which means a small forest, a small mountain.

The Maleshevo region has been populated since prehistoric times, as evidenced by the remains of settlements. The large number of registered archaeological areas are almost not explored yet and that is why the period of population is unknown.

In the 4th century, Maleshevo is part of the state of Philip and Alexander the Great. In the 6th and 7th centuries the Slavs inhabit the territory of Maleshevo. On the territory ofMaleshevo, Konstantin Filosov created the Cyrillic alphabet.

The name Maleshevo for the first time in the written sources is mentioned in the Letter of the Byzantine Emperor Vasilij II from 20.05.920 in which he speaks of the number and composition of the dioceses of the Ohrid Archbishopric. By the end of the 12th century, in the administrative division of the Byzantine Empire, there was also the Maleshevska-Morozvizdicka province.

After the Balkan and World War I, Maleshevo is part of the State Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (SCS), and after the World War II, part of the area is in Macedonia and part in Bulgaria.

Today Maleshevo as a geographical term on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia covers two municipalities – Berovo and Pehchevo.

Berovo is an old settlement, from Roman times. The name Berovo stems from the fact that people gathered from the old settlements in the places Turtela, Selca, Ribnitsa, Razdolo, Klepalo, DobriLaki, and later from the other Maleshevski villages and beyond. Since the middle of the 19th century, Berovo has developed very rapidly and has grown to become the center of Malesh. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Berovo is the center of preparations for the Razlovo and Kresna Uprising, the revolutionary struggles in the eastern region for the liberation of the Macedonian people, as well as numerous other activities for independence and sovereignty. During this period, there is an intensive activity for literacy and spreading of the culture among the population, with the central role of the monastery St. Archangel Michael. Here, the first church school was formed, from the Macedonian revivalist Joachim Krchovski. In this region, everything that is spiritual, folk and Macedonian, was cultivated for centuries, starting from the first Slavic cell schools, the activity of the painters, teachers and priests, and many others who built their personal contribution to the culture development.