Malik

The name Malik first entered the U.S. popularity charts in 1970. This was shortly after the 1965 repeal of the National Origins Act of 1924 – which had previously set strict quotas on non-European immigration to the United States. This created a large wave of Arab immigration when hundreds of thousands of people came from Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian areas. This has resulted in more and more names of Arabic origin climbing onto the charts (such as Amir, Muhammad, Karīm). Furthermore, during the Black Power movement in America of the 1970s, African-Americans began adopting names of their original African/Muslim ancestry. It seems clear that the African-American basketball player Malik Rose has played a significant role in the rapid popularity of this name in particular. In 1997, Malik Rose was traded to the San Antonio Spurs and became an immediate stand-out player (admired for his undersized hustle and defense). As a name, Malik has also seen the most success in states with the highest concentration of blacks (Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and the Carolinas for instance). The name sounds ethnic and offbeat to most Americans, but it’s a strong and confident choice. This “kingly” name suggests the coming of success.