| Malik | Ali | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | king | Exalted, noble |
| Origin | arabic | Arabic |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | MAH-lik | AH-lee |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1949 | 1914 |
| Peak year | 1996 (4,026) | 2022 (1,124) |
| In 2025 | 724 | 1,116 |
| Trend | Declining | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Malik | Ali |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 4,755 | 6,347 |
| 2010s | 9,210 | 9,865 |
| 2000s | 14,766 | 7,735 |
| 1990s | 17,951 | 5,140 |
| 1980s | 1,427 | 2,846 |
| 1970s | 1,348 | 1,733 |
| 1960s | 139 | 408 |
| 1950s | 6 | 166 |
| 1940s | 5 | 65 |
| 1930s | 0 | 50 |
| 1920s | 0 | 23 |
| 1910s | 0 | 5 |
Arabic 'malik' means 'king', from the Semitic root m-l-k ('to rule, to be king'). Al-Malik ('The King') is one of the names of God in Islam. Cognate with Hebrew 'melech'.
Ali means “exalted,” “noble” or “sublime” in Arabic.
Ali is more popular than Malik today: about 1,116 US babies were given the name Ali in 2025, compared with 724 named Malik.
Malik means king (arabic origin), while Ali means Exalted, noble (Arabic origin).
In US records, Malik first appears in 1949 and Ali in 1914, so Ali has the longer recorded history.