Melek
Feminine · “angel”
Melek is given to both — 578 girls and 67 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Melek is the Turkish word for an angel, and the Semitic root behind it is a king — the same three letters give Hebrew and Arabic their words for both.
How old is the name Melek?
Melek first appears in US birth records in 1987 — 38 years ago. The typical Melek is a kid of about 4 — this name's wave is very recent. About 600 people named Melek are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Melek most popular?
Melek peaked in 2021, reaching #1991 nationally. Today it ranks #4067, 2,076 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From malak to Melek
The story of Melek
The Semitic root m-l-k produces the words for kingship across the family — Hebrew melekh, Arabic malik, Phoenician Melqart, and the biblical Moloch. The word for a messenger or angel, malak, sits beside it, and the relationship between the two is genuinely debated. Turkish took melek for an angel and it is a well-used women's name there. It reaches American records with Turkish and Balkan families.
Meaningscholars disagree
angel; or king
Turkish melek, an angel, is borrowed from Arabic malak. The same consonants give Arabic malik and Hebrew melekh, a king, and whether the two senses share a root or merely a spelling is argued by Semitists.
How the name formed
- malak
- Melek
Related forms: Melek · Malak · Malakh
Pronouncing Melek
meh-LEK
Two syllables with the stress on the second in Turkish. English speakers say MEL-ek.
Nicknames for Melek
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1987
- Most girls named
- 202298 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1991reached in 2021
- Change vs 2024
- −38.6%35 in 2025, from 57
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Melek in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Melek in Turkish — same name
- Malak in Arabic — same name
- Malakh in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, New York.
Meleks among us
people named Melek are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 45,922 born in 2025 was named Melek
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Patrisha test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Melek's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Patrisha climbed just as high around 1982, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Patrisha's path sketches the road Melek is walking now.
Melek sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Melek is headed
Melek looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 34% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Melek beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Melek in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Turkish meaning that is warm and easy to explain.
- Mel is a complete short form in its own right.
- Five letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- In Hebrew and Arabic the same consonants give the word for a king.
- The stress moves to the front in English mouths.
- Melek, Malak and Malek are all in use and mark different languages.
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What they receive
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Melek
Feminine · #4067 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Meleks are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Melek are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Melek in 2025?
- Melek ranks #4067 among US girl names in 2025, with 35 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Melek?
- About 1 in every 45,922 US girls born in 2025 was named Melek — 35 in all.
- Will my child share the name Melek with classmates?
- Melek will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Melek
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eli#4067 · Peace#4067 · Medina#4067 · Darlin#4067 · Anja#4067 · Sparrow#4067 · Liani#4067 · Salina#4067
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Melek? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Melek and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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