Mahlek
A masculine name of Arabic origin potentially meaning "king" or "ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Mahlek. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mahlek today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mahlek births was 2007 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mahlek. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Mahlek. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
2007
5 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2013 SSA rank
#13,326
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Mahlek: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mahlek from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mahlek 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 Mahlek during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mahlek
The name Mahlek is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, which was spoken in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 3000 BCE. It is derived from the Sumerian words "mah," meaning "great," and "lek," meaning "ruler" or "lord." This suggests that the name Mahlek may have been given to individuals of high social status or those who held positions of power and authority in ancient Sumerian society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mahlek can be found in the cuneiform inscriptions from the reign of the Akkadian king Sargon the Great, who ruled around 2350 BCE. These inscriptions mention a high-ranking official named Mahlek, who served as a governor or administrator in one of the regions under Sargon's control.
The name Mahlek also appears in several ancient Sumerian and Akkadian texts, including religious hymns and mythological stories. In these texts, the name is sometimes associated with deities or mythical figures, indicating that it may have held spiritual or religious significance in ancient Mesopotamian cultures.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Mahlek. One of the earliest was Mahlek ibn Abi Sufra (c. 620-688 CE), a prominent Arab military commander and governor during the early Islamic caliphate. He played a significant role in the Muslim conquest of Persia and was renowned for his military prowess and leadership skills.
Another noteworthy figure was Mahlek al-Tusi (c. 1201-1274 CE), a renowned Persian mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher. He made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and logic, and his works were widely studied and influential in the Islamic world.
In the realm of literature, Mahlek ibn al-Mukarram (c. 940-1000 CE) was a prominent Arab poet and scholar from Persia. He was known for his mastery of the Arabic language and his eloquent poetic compositions, which were widely admired and studied by his contemporaries and subsequent generations.
During the Ottoman Empire, Mahlek Pasha (c. 1470-1536) was a influential statesman and military commander. He served as the Grand Vizier (prime minister) of the Ottoman Empire from 1526 to 1536 and played a crucial role in the expansion and consolidation of Ottoman power in the Balkans and the Middle East.
In more recent times, Mahlek Fakhr al-Din (1872-1946) was a prominent Lebanese poet, writer, and intellectual. He was a pioneering figure in the literary renaissance of the Arab world and is remembered for his contributions to modern Arabic poetry and literature.
People
Mahlek + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mahlek 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
Mahlek: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mahlek?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mahlek 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Mahlek a common name?
We classify Mahlek as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mahlek most popular?
The single biggest year for Mahlek was 2007, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mahlek is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Mahlek in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mahlek a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mahlek 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.
Is Mahlek still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mahlek in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Mahlek can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Mahlek?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.