Maalik
Master, ruler, sovereign; an Arabic name meaning "owner, proprietor".
Name Census estimates that about 535 living Americans carry the first name Maalik. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Maalik today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maalik births was 1995 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maalik. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
535
~ 1 in 640,662 Americans
Peak year
1995
35 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,069
Tracked since 1989
Popularity
Maalik: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maalik from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 183 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maalik by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Maalik during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maaliks live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Maalik, while Pennsylvania, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maalik
The name Maalik finds its origins in the Arabic language, tracing back to the medieval Islamic era. It is derived from the Arabic word "malik," which means "king" or "sovereign ruler." This name holds a strong connection to authority, leadership, and power.
Historically, the name Maalik was prevalent among the Arab nobility and ruling classes during the golden age of Islamic civilization. It was commonly bestowed upon princes, rulers, and those with significant authority and influence within the Islamic empires of the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Maalik can be found in the Qur'an, the holy scripture of Islam. In Chapter 37, verse 123, the name is mentioned in reference to the prophet Abraham's son, who is referred to as Ismail (Ishmael in English).
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Maalik. One of the most famous is Malik ibn Anas (711-795 CE), a renowned Islamic scholar and the founder of the Maliki school of jurisprudence, one of the four major Sunni Islamic legal traditions. His seminal work, "Al-Muwatta," is considered one of the earliest collections of hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad).
Another significant figure is Malik al-Ashtar (605-661 CE), a celebrated military commander and companion of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph of Islam. He is renowned for his strategic prowess and his influential treatise on governance, known as the "Letter to Malik al-Ashtar."
In the realm of literature, Malik Ambar (1548-1626 CE) was an influential military leader and prime minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate in the Deccan region of India. He played a pivotal role in the resistance against the Mughal Empire and is celebrated for his administrative and military reforms.
Malik Kafur (c. 1293-1316 CE) was a prominent military general and administrator during the Delhi Sultanate in India. He rose to power as a slave and went on to become the governor of several provinces, leading successful military campaigns and contributing to the expansion of the sultanate's territories.
Malik Ghulam Muhammad (1833-1908 CE) was a renowned poet, philosopher, and spiritual leader from the Indian subcontinent. He is revered for his literary works, particularly his poetry collection "Diwan-e-Ghulam Muhammad," which explores themes of love, mysticism, and spirituality.
People
Maalik + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maalik as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Maalik: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maalik?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 535 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maalik going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 640,662 US residents.
Is Maalik a common name?
We classify Maalik as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 543 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maalik most popular?
The single biggest year for Maalik was 1995, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maalik is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maalik a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maalik in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.