Maleek
An Arabic name meaning king, ruler or sovereign.
Name Census estimates that about 2,024 living Americans carry the first name Maleek. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Maleek today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maleek births was 1997 (90 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maleek. 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
2.0K
~ 1 in 169,345 Americans
Peak year
1997
90 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,185
Tracked since 1974
Popularity
Maleek: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maleek from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 677 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Maleek remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maleek 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 Maleek during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maleeks live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. New York, Florida, California recorded the most babies named Maleek, while Tennessee, New Jersey, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 46 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maleek
The name Maleek is derived from the Arabic language and has its roots in the word "malik," which means "king" or "sovereign." This name gained popularity in the Middle East and North Africa during the medieval period, particularly among Arab and Islamic cultures.
In Islamic tradition, the name Maleek is often associated with the archangel Malik, who is believed to be the keeper of Hell in Islamic eschatology. The name is mentioned in the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, where it refers to the ruler or guardian of the underworld.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Maleek can be traced back to the 7th century, when it was borne by Malik ibn Anas, a prominent Islamic scholar and the founder of the Maliki school of jurisprudence. He was born in Medina in 711 CE and played a significant role in the development of Islamic law.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Maleek. One such individual was Malik al-Salih, a Kurdish ruler of the Artuqid dynasty who governed the region of Diyarbakir (modern-day southeastern Turkey) in the 12th century. He was known for his military campaigns and his patronage of architecture, including the construction of the famous Mal'ik Mosque in Diyarbakir.
Another prominent figure was Malik Ambar, an Ethiopian-born military leader who served as the Prime Minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate in the Deccan region of India during the early 17th century. He is celebrated for his strategic military prowess and his efforts in transforming the Ahmadnagar Sultanate into a formidable power.
In literature, the name Maleek is associated with Malik Ayaz, a character from the famous Persian epic poem "Shahnameh" by Ferdowsi. Malik Ayaz was a slave who rose to become a trusted companion and general of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, a renowned ruler of the Ghaznavid Empire in the 11th century.
More recently, Malik Ambar, an Indian film actor and producer, gained recognition for his work in Bollywood during the 1960s and 1970s. He was born in 1939 and appeared in numerous popular films, including "Elaan" and "Roti Kapada Aur Makaan."
People
Maleek + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maleek 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
Maleek: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maleek?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,024 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maleek 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 169,345 US residents.
Is Maleek a common name?
We classify Maleek as "Rare". It ranks above 93.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,052 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maleek most popular?
The single biggest year for Maleek was 1997, when 90 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maleek is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maleek a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maleek 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.