# Malik (name)

Malik, Maleek, Malek or Malyk (Arabic: مَالِك or مَلِك) (Urdu & (Persian): مالک) (/ˈmælɪk/) is a given name of Semitic origin. It is both used as first name and surname originally mainly in Western Asia by Semitic speaking Christians, Muslims and Jews of varying ethnicities, before spreading to countries in the Caucasus, South Asia, Central Asia, North Africa and Southeast Asia where most users are Muslim.
Several Semitic language traditions such as Hebrew and Aramaic use its homonym and other different versions of it. In Arabic, Malik (Malek) مَالِك means owner, and Malyk (Malyeek) مَلِك means king. Its homonym, though other sounding, Moloch also means king or lord in Aramaic (which also uses 'Malek' and 'Malik', as in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic), as does the Modern Hebrew מֶלֶךְ‏ (mélekh). In ancient Akkadian the terms 'Malka' and 'Malku' were used. These and many other forms in most of the Semitic languages stem from a common Proto-Semitic root.
Unrelated to the use in Semitic languages, Malik is also a common first name for men in Greenland (the ninth most common in 2021), and it means "ocean wave" in Greenlandic.

## People with the given name
### Malek

* Malek Ashraf (died 1357), a Chupanid ruler of northwestern Iran during the 14th century
* Malek Awab (born 1961), Singaporean footballer
* Malek Bennabi (1905-1973), Algerian writer and philosopher
* Hasan Malek (born 1946), Malaysian politician
* Malek Boutih (born 1964), French politician and activist
* Malek Chergui (born 1988), French footballer of Algerian descent
* Malek Jandali (born 1972), German-born Syrian-American pianist and composer
* Rami Malek (born 1981), American-Egyptian actor
* Malek Jaziri (born 1984), Tunisian tennis player
* Malek Koussa (born 1971), Syrian footballer
* Malek Maktabi (born 1981), also known as Malik Maktaby, Lebanese television presenter
* Malek Mouath (born 1981), Saudi Arabian footballer

### Malik

* Malik Al Nasir (born 1966), British author and spoken word poet
* Malik Ambar (1548–1626), Siddi military leader
* Malik Amin Aslam (born 1966), Pakistani environmentalist and politician
* Malik Abdul Basit (1972–2020), American rapper known as Malik B.
* Malik Bendjelloul (1977–2014), Swedish documentary filmmaker, journalist and actor
* Malik Cunningham (born 1998), American football player
* Malik Dinar (died 748), Persian scholar and traveller
* Malik Fitts (born 1997), American basketball player
* Mälık Ğabdullin (1915–1973), Kazakh-Soviet writer, professor, philologist, participant of the Great Patriotic War
* Malik Hamm (born 2000), American football player
* Malik Harrison (born 1998), American football player
* Malik Hartford (born 2005), American football player
* Malik Henry (born 1998), American football player
* Malik Herring (born 1997), American football player
* Malik Jackson (disambiguation), multiple people
* Malik Jefferson (born 1996), American football player
* Malik Kafur (died 1316), first Hindu (later converted to Islam) and prominent military general of Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji
* Malik Maharramov (1920–2004), Soviet–Azerbaijani soldier and Hero of the Soviet Union
* Malik Monk (born 1998), American basketball player
* Malik Müller (born 1994), German basketball player
* Malik Mustapha (born 2002), American football player
* Malik Nabers (born 2003), American football player
* Malik Newman (born 1997), American basketball player
* Malik Obama (born 1958), Kenyan–American businessman and half-brother of Barack Obama
* Malik Risaldi (born 1996), Indonesian soccer player
* Malik Reed (born 1996), American football player
* Malik Riaz (born 1954), Pakistani businessman and real estate developer
* Malik Saad (1959–2007), Pakistani police officer
* El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, The Muslim name of Malcolm X (Malcolm Little) (1925–1965), African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist
* Malik Shah, multiple Seljuk sultans
* Malik Izaak Taylor (1970–2016), American rapper known as Phife Dawg
* Malik Taylor (American football) (born 1995), American football player
* Malik Tillman (born 2002), German footballer
* Malik Willis (born 1999), American football player
* Malik Yoba (born 1967), American actor and singer
* Malik Yusef (born 1971), American spoken word poet, rapper, writer, actor and producer

### Malick

* Malick Badiane (born 1984), Senegalese basketball player
* Malick Mane (born 1988), Senegalese footballer
* Malick Sidibé (1935/36–2016), Malian photographer
* Malick Sall (born 1956), Senegalese lawyer and politician
* Malick Sy (1855–1922), Senegalese Sufi leader
* Malick Touré (1995-2024), Malian footballer

### Maleek

* Maleek Berry (born 1987), British record producer and recording artist
* Maleek Irons (born 1996), Canadian football player

### Malyk

* Malyk Hamilton (born 1999), Canadian soccer player

### Malique

* Malique Ibrahim (born 1977), Malaysian rapper

## People with the surname
### Malik

* Aamir Ali Malik (born 1977), Indian actor and model
* Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (644/647–705), Umayyad caliph
* Adam Malik (1917–1984), Indonesian politician and journalist
* Adnan Malik (born 1984), Pakistani actor, director and producer
* Akhtar Hussain Malik (died 1969), Pakistani general
* Amaal Malik (born 1991), Indian music director, composer and singer
* Ammar Malik (born 1987) American songwriter
* Anas ibn Malik (c. 612–c. 712), Companion of Muhammad
* Angeline Malik (born 1975), Pakistani director, actor, producer, model and activist
* Anmol Malik, Indian author, singer and songwriter
* Armaan Malik (born 1995), Indian singer, songwriter, record producer and actor
* Anu Malik (born 1960), Indian music director and singer
* Art Malik (born 1952), Pakistani-born British actor
* Ayisha Malik, British writer of Pakistani descent
* Charles Malik (1906–1987), Lebanese philosopher and diplomat
* Fredmund Malik (born 1944), Austrian economist and management consultant
* Habib Malik (born 1954), Lebanese–American professor of history and cultural studies
* Haidar Malik (died 1627), Mughal administrator and soldier
* Himanshu Malik (born 1973), Indian actor, screenwriter and producer
* Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (691–743), Umayyad caliph
* Jan Malík (born 1992), Czech footballer
* Jana Malik (born 1974), Pakistani actress
* Jawad Rafique Malik (born 1962), Pakistani civil servant
* Jitendra Malik (born 1960), computer vision researcher
* Kenan Malik (born 1960), Indian-born English writer, lecturer and broadcaster
* Keshav Malik (1924–2014), Indian poet, critic, art scholar and curator
* Koel Malik (born 1982), Indian actress
* Maszlee Malik (born 1974), Malaysian politician
* Marek Malík (born 1975), Czech ice hockey player
* Meghna Malik, Indian actress
* Michael J. Malik Sr (born 1954), American developer and entrepreneur
* Mohit Malik (born 1982), Indian actor
* Muhammad Asad Malik (1941–2020), Pakistani field hockey player
* Nikunj Malik (born 1989), Indian actress
* Osama Malik (born 1990), Australian soccer player
* Rehman Malik (1951–2022), Pakistani politician and special agent
* Sakshi Malik (born 1992), Indian wrestler
* Saleem Malik (born 1963), Pakistani cricketer
* Satya Pal Malik (born 1946), Indian politician
* Shoaib Malik (born 1982), Pakistani cricketer
* Štefan Malík (born 1966), Slovak racewalker
* Steve Malik, American businessman and sports executive
* Syed Abdul Malik (1919–2000), Indian writer
* Tashfeen Malik (1986–2015), Pakistani terrorist
* Ved Prakash Malik (born 1939), Indian general
* Veena Malik (born 1984), Pakistani actress
* Yakov Malik (1906–1980), Soviet diplomat
* Yasin Malik (born 1966), Kashmiri–Indian separatist leader
* Zayn Malik (born 1993), English singer and songwriter

### Malick

* Peter Malick (born 1951), American musician
* Terrence Malick (born 1943), American director
* Wendie Malick (born 1950), American actress and fashion model

### Malyk

* Mitchel Malyk (born 1995), Canadian luger
* Vasyl Malyk (born 1968), former Soviet and Ukrainian footballer and Ukrainian football coach
* Volodymyr Malyk (1921–1998), Soviet-Ukrainian writer

## Fictional characters

* Malek the Paladin, a fictional character from the video game series Legacy of Kain
* Malik Al-Sayf, a fictional character from the video game series Assassin's Creed
* Malik, a fictional character from the Malaysian film series KL Gangster
* Malik Begum, the main protagonist of the British web series Corner Shop Show played by Islah Abdur-Rahman
* Malik Caesar, a fictional character in the 2009 video game Tales of Graces
* Faridah Malik, a fictional character from the 2011 video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution
* Sally Malik, a fictional character in the television series Being Human
* Malik Wright, a character from the American comedy-drama television series The Game (since 2006)
* Malik Ishtar, a character from Japanese manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh!
* Jack Malik, the protagonist in the 2019 movie Yesterday
* Gideon, Nathaniel, and Freddy Malick, characters in the Marvel television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.