Maliki
Of Arabic origin, meaning "one who rules" or "one who possesses".
Name Census estimates that about 1,149 living Americans carry the first name Maliki. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Maliki today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maliki births was 2005 (79 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maliki. 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
- • Maliki is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 298,307 Americans
Peak year
2005
79 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,350
Tracked since 1992
Popularity
Maliki: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maliki from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 474 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Maliki remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maliki 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 Maliki during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Malikis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Texas, Indiana, California recorded the most babies named Maliki, while Tennessee, Oklahoma, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maliki
The name Maliki is of Arabic origin, derived from the word "malik" which means "king" or "sovereign". The name can be traced back to the early centuries of Islam and the Arabic-speaking world.
In the 7th century, the term "Malik" was used as a title for the rulers of various Islamic dynasties and empires. The name Maliki emerged as a derivative, denoting "one who is associated with or belongs to the sovereign". It carried connotations of royalty, authority, and power.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Maliki can be found in the works of medieval Islamic scholars and historians. For instance, the 9th-century jurist and theologian, Abu'l-Hasan al-Maliki, was known for his contributions to the Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence.
Throughout history, the name Maliki has been borne by several notable figures. One of the most prominent was Mansa Musa I, also known as Kankan Musa or Maliki Keita, who reigned as the Emperor of the Mali Empire in West Africa from 1312 to 1337. He was renowned for his vast wealth, military conquests, and promotion of Islamic education and architecture.
Another historical figure with the name Maliki was Abu Bakr al-Maliki, a renowned Sufi scholar and mystic who lived in the 12th century. He was known for his influential works on Sufism and his spiritual teachings that attracted followers from across the Islamic world.
In the 13th century, Malik al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub, also known as Maliki, ruled as the Sultan of Egypt and Syria from 1240 to 1249. He was a skilled military leader and played a significant role in the defense of the region against the Crusaders.
Another notable figure was Maliki Salim al-Jara, a 16th-century Ottoman statesman and diplomat who served as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
In more recent times, Maliki Ambar was an influential Ethiopian military leader and ruler who rose to prominence in the early 18th century. He played a crucial role in the expansion of the Ethiopian Empire and the consolidation of power under the Solomonic dynasty.
These are just a few examples of prominent individuals who have borne the name Maliki throughout history, reflecting its deep-rooted connection to the Arabic and Islamic cultural heritage, as well as its association with sovereignty, authority, and leadership.
People
Maliki + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maliki 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
Maliki: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maliki?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,149 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maliki 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 298,307 US residents.
Is Maliki a common name?
We classify Maliki as "Rare". It ranks above 91% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,160 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maliki most popular?
The single biggest year for Maliki was 2005, when 79 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maliki is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maliki a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maliki 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.