# Tariq (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/tariq/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Arabic |
| Meaning | “messenger”, “nocturnal visitor”, “morning star”, “to knock”, “to rap” |
| Pronunciation | /tæɹɪk/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 6,885 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 6,878 / 7 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,060, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

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

## What it means

Tariq is grouped under angel and star.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 7 | 12,290 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 107 | 1,508 |
| 2012 | 115 | 1,446 |
| 2013 | 109 | 1,498 |
| 2014 | 92 | 1,678 |
| 2015 | 94 | 1,676 |
| 2016 | 125 | 1,411 |
| 2017 | 141 | 1,292 |
| 2018 | 148 | 1,252 |
| 2019 | 119 | 1,467 |
| 2020 | 135 | 1,333 |
| 2021 | 135 | 1,371 |
| 2022 | 138 | 1,361 |
| 2023 | 146 | 1,313 |
| 2024 | 133 | 1,409 |
| 2025 | 107 | 1,599 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 33 | 878 |
| 2012 | 27 | 1,021 |
| 2013 | 24 | 1,086 |
| 2014 | 22 | 1,178 |
| 2015 | 22 | 1,186 |
| 2016 | 18 | 1,431 |
| 2017 | 19 | 1,339 |
| 2018 | 26 | 1,061 |
| 2019 | 23 | 1,152 |
| 2020 | 23 | 1,150 |
| 2021 | 17 | 1,448 |
| 2022 | 23 | 1,179 |
| 2023 | 29 | 1,018 |
| 2024 | 30 | 1,000 |
| 2025 | 36 | 873 |

## People named Tariq

- Tariq ibn Ziyad, 8th-century Muslim general
- Tariq Ali, British political activist, writer, and historian (born 1943)
- Tariq Anwar, British film editor
- Tariq Niazi, field hockey player (1940-2008)
- Tariq Teguia, Argelian film director and screenwriter
- Tariq Rahman, expert in sociolinguistic history and language
- Tariq Kirksay, American basketball player
- Tariq Woolen, American football player (born 1999)
- Tariq Ahmad, Baron Ahmad of Wimbledon, British businessman and politician (born 1968)
- Tariq Anwar, General Secretary of AICC for Kerala & Lakshadweep
- Tariq ibn Amr, 7th century Umayyad commander and governor
- Tariq Hanna, chef

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.