Malik

Malik means king in Arabic, one of the ninety-nine names of God in Islamic tradition and a title given to rulers from Andalusia to Mughal India. It crossed into African American naming in the mid-20th century, popularized by figures like Malcolm X, who took the name Malik El-Shabazz, and has been a steady American presence ever since, now near 429. Two bright syllables, the final k giving it a clean, decisive close. The name carries authority without pomp, rooted in faith and history but contemporary in sound. Malik reads confident and global, a name that travels well in any city.