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Tariq

#1,599 in 2025Boys' name

Messenger, nocturnal visitor, or morning star

Tariq has been given to 6,885 babies in the U.S. since 1963. In 2025 it ranked #1,599 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1998, with 514 recorded.

Babies named Tariq, 2025

1 in 31,000

Tariq over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
020040060018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Tariq: meaning, origin, and history

Messenger, nocturnal visitor, or morning star

Arabic

What Tariq means

Tariq means “messenger, nocturnal visitor, or morning star”, associated with ṭāriq.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Borrowed from Arabic طَارِق (ṭāriq, “messenger, nocturnal visitor, or morning star”), from طَرَقَ (ṭaraqa, “to knock, to rap”).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Tariq (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Tariq is used in English. Its origins include Arabic.

Tariq comes through Arabic طَارِق.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Tariq is pronounced /tæɹɪk/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 6,878 boys were recorded with the name Tariq between 1963 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 514 in 1998; its best national rank was #444 in 1998.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,333 in 2020 to #1,599 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,676 in 2015 to #1,599 in 2025.

In the United States, 7 girls were recorded with the name Tariq between 1998 and 1998. Its highest annual count was 7 in 1998; its best national rank was #12,284 in 1998.

How common is Tariq?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 31,000
107 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 16,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,599
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
21,477 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Tariq sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5002%

Put another way: gather 21,477 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Tariq. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Tariqs were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Tariq was born before 2001 — so the typical Tariq is around 24 today.

Median birth year
2001
About 24 years old
Biggest decade
1990s
29.3% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
52.4%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
6,878
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1990s — 29.3% of all recorded uses (2,015).

Is Tariq rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−190
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−266
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
+77
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.14×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
20.8%
Peak was 1998 (514)
Years since peak
27
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
9.8% average annual change
Best rank ever
#444
1998

Spellings of Tariq

Tariq is not the most common spelling — Mario is, with 45.6% against Tariq's 2.1%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Tariq is used

Across 2016–2025, Tariq was most concentrated in Georgia — about 1 in 6,667 boys, against 1 in 14,412 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in 100,000).

115 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Georgia1 in 6,667
  2. 2Michigan1 in 6,667
  3. 3Ohio1 in 7,143
  4. 4Florida1 in 8,333
  5. 5Illinois1 in 8,333
  6. 6Louisiana1 in 11,111
  7. 7Maryland1 in 12,500
  8. 8Indiana1 in 14,286

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Tariq around the world

Where Tariq ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #873
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1977–2004
    #490
    in 2004
  • Ireland
    1997–2024
    #785
    in 2024
  • France
    1972–2025
    #1,505
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #1,614
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1982–2013
    #754
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Tariq

People whose public names include Tariq, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Tariq in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Tariq. Linked forms have their own page here.

TarekTarikTareque

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Tariq by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,599
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 266
Best rank ever
#444
1998
Peak year
1998
514 that year
First recorded
1963
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
6,878
Count in 2025
107

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#12,284
1998
Peak year
1998
7 that year
First recorded
1998
Last recorded
1998
All-time count
7
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Tariq

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

TarikTaronTarekTaranTarunTarynTarasTyriqTarenTarellTareqTarusTarakTarryTarranceTarinTaraTarrenTarronTarvisTarrellTaroLyriqTaris

Names with a curve like Tariq

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Tariq, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

DangeloDestinMaximillianKahlilGarrisonHernanDandreSyedMarquezJelaniQuintenMarkel

Sibling names for Tariq

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Tariq

Top names of 1998, Tariq's peak yearThe 1990s in fullOther names that peaked in 1998Boys' names starting with TArabic Boy NamesMuslim Boy Names