Malik (surname)

Malik is a Hindu and Muslim surname meaning "king" from a title meaning ‘lord’, ‘ruler’, ‘chief’, from Arabic malik ‘king’. In the subcontinent this is often found as a title for the headman of a village. In Hindu, they are the part of the broad Kshatriya caste. The Kshatriyas in Hinduism are one of the four varnas. They are traditionally members of the military or ran in an administrative capacity.

Punjabi "Malik" are the Khatris (Punjabi) or Kshatriyas (Sanskrit, (K) silent) ,north Indian community that originated in the Potwar Plateau of Punjab. This region is historically connected with the composition of the Vedas and classics like the Mahabharata and Ashtadhyayi. In the old varna (caste) system the Kshatriya were members of the Hindu military order who as administrators and rulers, were tasked with protecting Hindu Dharma, and serving humanity. In the course of time, however, as a result of economic and political exigencies, Khatris also expanded into mercantile occupations.

In Islam Al-Malik ‘the King’ is one of the attributes of Allah, regarded as ‘the king of mankind’ (Qur’an 114:2), and this word is used in combination in names such as ?Abd-ul Malik ‘servant of the King’. This was the name of an Umayyad khalif (685–705).

Malik is also a surname in Eastern Europe derived from the vocabulary word meaning ‘small’ (Russian malen'kiy, Polish maly, Czech malý ‘small’, Slovenian mali).

Malik is a surname deriving from Arabic malik, meaning "king" or "chieftain".[1][2] The title "Malik" was granted to many Muslims in Kashmir, and began to be used a surname in the 14th century.[3]