Maliq
An Arabic masculine name denoting royalty and sovereignty.
Name Census estimates that about 769 living Americans carry the first name Maliq. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Maliq today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maliq births was 2002 (64 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maliq. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Maliq with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
769
~ 1 in 445,714 Americans
Peak year
2002
64 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,074
Tracked since 1994
Census
Maliq in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 622 people with the first name Maliq, which placed it at #17,634 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#17,634
National first-name rank
People counted
622
622 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
70.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maliq
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maliq is Black at 70.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.6%) and Hispanic (9.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Maliq described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Maliq at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American70.3% · 437
- Two or more races11.6% · 72
- Hispanic or Latino9.2% · 57
- White7.1% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Maliq: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maliq from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 353 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
Maliq 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 Maliq during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maliqs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Virginia, Illinois, Florida recorded the most babies named Maliq, while Texas, California, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maliq
The name Maliq is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language. It is derived from the word "malik," which means "king" or "ruler." The name can be traced back to the 7th century, during the rise of Islam and the spread of the Arabic language across the Middle East and North Africa.
In Arabic culture, the name Maliq was often given to boys with the intention of bestowing upon them the qualities of leadership and authority. It was a name associated with strength, power, and respect.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Maliq can be found in the Qur'an, the central religious text of Islam. The name appears in reference to one of the prophets mentioned in the scripture.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Maliq. One of the most famous was Maliq al-Zahir (1176-1226), a powerful Ayyubid sultan who ruled over parts of modern-day Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. He was known for his military victories and for strengthening the Ayyubid dynasty.
Another prominent figure with the name Maliq was Maliq al-Kamil (1180-1238), the nephew of Maliq al-Zahir and also an Ayyubid sultan. He is remembered for his successful defense of Egypt against the Crusaders and his role in negotiating the transfer of Jerusalem to Muslim control.
In the 14th century, there was Maliq al-Nasir (1285-1341), a Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria. He was known for his long reign and his efforts to revive the Mamluk sultanate after a period of decline.
Moving forward in time, Maliq Ambar (1548-1626) was an Ethiopian-born military leader who served as the prime minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate in India. He is celebrated for his successful military campaigns against the Mughal Empire.
In more recent history, Maliq Jamal al-Din (1919-2005) was a prominent Syrian philosopher and writer who played a significant role in the Arab nationalist movement and the promotion of Arab culture and identity.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the name Maliq, a name steeped in tradition and associated with leadership, authority, and strength.
People
Maliq + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maliq 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
Maliq: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maliq?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 769 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maliq 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 445,714 US residents.
Is Maliq a common name?
We classify Maliq as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 779 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maliq most popular?
The single biggest year for Maliq was 2002, when 64 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maliq is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maliq in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 622 people with the name Maliq, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,634 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Maliq in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Maliq?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maliq appears almost entirely male. Of the 623 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Maliq?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maliq is Black at 70.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.6%) and Hispanic (9.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Maliq most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Maliq in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.3% (437 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Maliq in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maliq a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maliq 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 Maliq still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maliq 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 Maliq 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.
How many Americans are named Maliq?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.