boys' name ★ peaked 1996

Malik

Meaning Leader Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #437 Trend → Stable

From Arabic مَالِك (mālik) and مَلِك (malik, “Leader”).

Rank 2025
#437
among boys · ↓9 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
724
named Malik · -2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,359
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1996
4,050 babies
All-time total
49,866
#514 all-time among boys
First recorded
1949
in Social Security records

Malik popularity over time

49,866 babies have been named Malik since 1949, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.631.251.882.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – 5 5 1 – #4,024
1950s – 6 6 1 +20% #3,599
1960s – 139 139 14 +2217% #1,090
1970s 32 1,348 1,380 138 +893% #650
1980s 21 1,427 1,448 145 +5% #667
1990s 130 17,951 18,081 1,808 +1149% #97
2000s 49 14,766 14,815 1,482 -18% #176
2010s 27 9,210 9,237 924 -38% #283
2020s (to 2025) – 4,755 4,755 793 -14% #373

Where Malik is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 713 0.42 #442
2027 703 0.41 #447
2028 695 0.41 #451
2029 688 0.40 #454
2030 683 0.40 #457

Where Malik is most popular

Boys named Malik per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.454 per 1,000. Strongest in Michigan, Maryland, and Mississippi.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Malik born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Michigan 179 0.874 +93%
Maryland 103 0.864 +90%
Mississippi 48 0.845 +86%
Louisiana 86 0.841 +85%
Georgia 207 0.817 +80%
Illinois 177 0.693 +53%
Alabama 73 0.668 +47%
Nevada 37 0.649 +43%
Ohio 172 0.649 +43%
Florida 290 0.612 +35%
Connecticut 41 0.606 +34%
Minnesota 74 0.603 +33%
Virginia 114 0.601 +32%
Iowa 41 0.595 +31%
Arkansas 37 0.585 +29%
Missouri 81 0.584 +29%
New Mexico 19 0.577 +27%
Tennessee 100 0.554 +22%
Wisconsin 65 0.549 +21%
Massachusetts 72 0.524 +15%
Indiana 83 0.518 +14%
New York 222 0.513 +13%
District of Columbia 7 0.474 +5%
South Carolina 49 0.474 +5%
Nebraska 20 0.460 ≈ national
Kentucky 46 0.458 ≈ national
Washington 72 0.440 ≈ national
New Jersey 87 0.432 -5%
North Carolina 109 0.427 -6%
Texas 372 0.422 -7%
Arizona 69 0.422 -7%
Pennsylvania 110 0.414 -9%
California 371 0.406 -11%
Delaware 6 0.396 -13%
Oklahoma 35 0.396 -13%
Oregon 29 0.382 -16%
Colorado 36 0.279 -38%
Utah 24 0.251 -45%
Kansas 17 0.248 -45%
Idaho 5 0.122 -73%
Alaska – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Malik

Malik is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #437 in 2025 with 724 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1949, 49,866 American babies have been named Malik. Its peak came in 1996, when 4,050 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Malik stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Malik?

The median living Malik is about 23 years old; half are between 14 and 28. An estimated 49 thousand people named Malik are alive in the United States today.

median 23 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Malik year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 724 #437
2024 – – 740 #428
2023 – – 835 #383
2022 – – 808 #395
2021 – – 810 #392
2020 – – 838 #373
2019 – – 886 #363
2018 – – 874 #373
2017 – – 869 #378
2016 – – 844 #382
2015 – – 862 #375
2014 6 #15,840 842 #372
2013 – – 940 #341
2012 5 #18,561 913 #340
2011 7 #14,263 988 #322
2010 9 #11,885 1,192 #283
2009 – – 1,359 #255
2008 – – 1,218 #280
2007 10 #11,337 1,255 #273
2006 – – 1,191 #289
2005 7 #13,937 1,253 #265
2004 5 #17,792 1,377 #243
2003 6 #15,046 1,506 #229
2002 – – 1,659 #211
2001 7 #12,924 1,864 #197
2000 14 #7,423 2,084 #176
1995 30 #3,635 2,707 #131
1990 6 #12,307 328 #559
1985 5 #11,742 124 #800
1980 6 #9,817 168 #667
1975 – – 123 #753
1970 5 #8,783 126 #732
1965 – – 8 #3,148
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Malik

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Malik Beasley Malik Beasley American basketball player (born 1996) Contemporary
  2. 2 Malik Kafur General of Delhi Sultanate 1250–1316 · Medieval
  3. 3 Malik Ambar Malik Ambar Prime Minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate and former Ethiopian slave (1548–1626) 16th century
  4. 4 Malik Ghulam Muhammad Malik Ghulam Muhammad Governor-general of Pakistan from 1951 to 1956 1895–1956 · 19th century
  5. 5 Malik ibn Anas Malik ibn Anas Muslim scholar and namesake of the Maliki school (711–795) Medieval
  6. 6 Malik Rose Malik Rose American basketball player (born 1974) Contemporary
  7. 7 Malik Bendjelloul Malik Bendjelloul Swedish film and documentary director 1977–2014 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Malik Meraj Khalid Malik Meraj Khalid Pakistani politician (1916–2003) 1915–2003 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Malik Zidi Malik Zidi French actor (born 1975) Contemporary
  10. 10 Malik Shah Persian King 1100–1116 · Medieval
  11. 11 Malik Fathi Malik Fathi German footballer (born 1983) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Malik, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Malik?

The median living Malik is about 23 years old. Half of all living Maliks are between 14 and 28 years old.

How many people named Malik are alive today?

An estimated 49 thousand people named Malik are alive in the United States, based on 49,866 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Malik mean?

From Arabic مَالِك (mālik) and مَلِك (malik, “Leader”).

How popular is the name Malik in 2025?

Malik ranked #437 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 724 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Malik?

49,866 babies have been named Malik in the United States since 1949, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Malik most popular?

Malik peaked in 1996, when 4,050 newborns received the name.

Is Malik a boy or girl name?

Malik is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Malik rising or falling?

Malik has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Malik become more popular?

Malik looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 683 boys named Malik in 2030, ranking around #457. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Malik?

Well-known people named Malik include Malik Beasley (basketball player), Malik Kafur (politician), Malik Ambar (military personnel).

Names like Malik

Names that sound and feel close to Malik: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Malik with similar names → More names starting with M →