UK boy's name
Menelik
A masculine Ge'ez name meaning "son of the wise man".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2023. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Menelik is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Menelik popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2023 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4107, with 4 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2018, with 9 births.
This profile covers 48 England and Wales registrations across 11 recorded years from 1996 to 2023. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 44% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 48 living people in the UK are called Menelik. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2024 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Menelik ranked #4107 for boys in England and Wales in 2023, with 4 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2018, when 9 boys were registered as Menelik.
- • About 48 living people in the UK are estimated to have Menelik as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#4107
2023
Births in 2023
4
Latest year
Peak year
2018
9 births
Estimated living
48
2026
Meaning
What does Menelik mean?
The name Menelik originates from the Amharic language, which is a Semitic language spoken primarily in Ethiopia. It is believed to have been derived from the Ge'ez word "ማንልክ" (män'lǝk), which means "I have been compensated" or "I have been rewarded."
Menelik is a significant name in Ethiopian history, as it was the name of several kings and emperors of the Solomonic dynasty, which ruled Ethiopia from the 13th to the 20th century. The most renowned bearer of this name was Emperor Menelik II, who reigned from 1889 to 1913. He is credited with leading Ethiopia's successful resistance against Italian colonization and establishing the modern boundaries of the country.
The name Menelik is also mentioned in the Kebra Nagast, an important literary work in Ethiopian history, which relates the legend of the Queen of Sheba and her son Menelik I, who is believed to be the founder of the Solomonic dynasty. According to the legend, Menelik I was the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, and he became the first king of Ethiopia.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Menelik dates back to the 10th century, when Menelik II, also known as Ibn al-Qummi, was a prominent Muslim scholar and philosopher from Iran. Another notable bearer of the name was Menelik II of Ethiopia (1844-1913), who was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 until his death in 1913.
Other historical figures who bore the name Menelik include:
1. Menelik I (c. 950 BC), the legendary first Emperor of Ethiopia and the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. 2. Menelik II (1844-1913), the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913, who successfully defended the country from Italian colonization. 3. Menelik III (1925-1988), the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie I and a claimant to the throne of Ethiopia after the overthrow of the monarchy in 1974. 4. Menelik Habtemariam (born 1983), an Ethiopian-American entrepreneur and co-founder of the popular social media platform Moby Group. 5. Menelik Shabazz (1935-1967), an American civil rights activist and leader of the Black Panther Party in Los Angeles during the 1960s.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Menelik over time
The chart below shows babies named Menelik registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2023. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Menelik, the clearest high point is 2018. The latest England and Wales figure is 4 births in 2023, compared with 9 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Menelik by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Menelik was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #3578 | 10 | 2 |
| 2010s | #3653 | 16 | 3 |
| 2000s | #2656 | 13 | 3 |
| 1990s | #2888 | 9 | 3 |
Related
Names similar to Menelik
- Matthew 80,931
- Mohammed 74,321
- Muhammad 72,235
- Max 59,807
- Michael 47,075
- Mason 38,935
- Mohammad 25,910
- Morgan 15,994
- Muhammed 11,527
- Mark 11,336
- Marcus 11,257
- Maxwell 10,006
FAQ
Menelik: questions and answers
How popular is the name Menelik in the UK right now?
In 2023, Menelik was ranked #4107 for boys in England and Wales, with 4 births registered.
When was Menelik most popular?
The peak year on record was 2018, with 9 babies registered as Menelik in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Menelik?
A masculine Ge'ez name meaning "son of the wise man".
How many people are called Menelik in the UK?
A total of 48 babies have been registered as Menelik across the 11 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.