# Malcolm (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/malcolm/  
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 | Scottish Gaelic |
| Meaning | “devotee of [saint] columba”, “tonsured”, “dove” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmæl.kəm/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Malc |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 70,328 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 70,209 / 119 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 636, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Royal name in Scotland, anglicised from various historical Goidelic names equivalent to Scottish Gaelic Maol Chaluim or Calum, Irish Maol Colm, Middle Irish Máel Coluim, Old Irish Máel Columb (literally “devotee of [Saint] Columba”); proper nouns derived from máel (“tonsured”) from Proto-Celtic *mailos, and columb (“dove”) from Latin columbus.

## What it means

Malcolm is grouped under bird.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 7 | 3,911 |
| 1931 | 5 | 4,730 |
| 1943 | 5 | 5,095 |
| 1951 | 5 | 5,896 |
| 1953 | 5 | 6,198 |
| 1970 | 5 | 8,779 |
| 1971 | 7 | 7,045 |
| 1972 | 6 | 7,830 |
| 1973 | 5 | 9,209 |
| 1979 | 5 | 11,207 |
| 1986 | 8 | 8,186 |
| 1987 | 5 | 12,456 |
| 1988 | 11 | 6,929 |
| 1990 | 5 | 14,327 |
| 1991 | 7 | 11,004 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 525 | 497 |
| 2012 | 585 | 467 |
| 2013 | 650 | 442 |
| 2014 | 682 | 442 |
| 2015 | 741 | 421 |
| 2016 | 784 | 408 |
| 2017 | 814 | 393 |
| 2018 | 806 | 393 |
| 2019 | 1,022 | 327 |
| 2020 | 1,170 | 291 |
| 2021 | 1,230 | 281 |
| 2022 | 1,220 | 284 |
| 2023 | 1,131 | 293 |
| 2024 | 1,093 | 314 |
| 2025 | 1,257 | 272 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 11 | 1,909 |
| 2012 | 23 | 1,152 |
| 2013 | 14 | 1,617 |
| 2014 | 11 | 1,935 |
| 2015 | 21 | 1,236 |
| 2016 | 21 | 1,271 |
| 2017 | 28 | 1,042 |
| 2018 | 23 | 1,158 |
| 2019 | 22 | 1,189 |
| 2020 | 29 | 962 |
| 2021 | 31 | 963 |
| 2022 | 24 | 1,143 |
| 2023 | 35 | 890 |
| 2024 | 24 | 1,162 |
| 2025 | 21 | 1,307 |

## People named Malcolm

- Malcolm X, American Black rights activist (1925–1965)
- Malcolm McDowell, British actor (born 1943)
- Malcolm Fraser, Australian politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (1930-2015)
- Malcolm Young, Australian guitarist (1953–2017)
- Malcolm Lowry, British writer (1909–1957)
- Malcolm Gladwell, Canadian journalist and science writer
- Malcolm Arnold, English composer and conductor (1921–2006)
- Malcolm David Kelley, American actor
- Malcolm McLaren, English fashion designer and music manager (1946–2010)
- Malcolm Muggeridge, English journalist, author, media personality, and satirist (1903-1990)
- Malcolm Glazer, American businessman, sports franchise owner (1928–2014)
- Malcolm Forbes, American publisher (1919–1990)

## 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.