Malcolm

Boy name

Malcolm has been given to 70,328 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1992 and currently ranks #272 for boys (2025).

Meaning & origin /ˈmæl.kəm/

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.

Origin: Scottish Gaelic, Goidelic

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025

Hover or tap the chart to read any year.

Total babies

70,328

Peak year

1992 (1,495 babies)

Rank in 2025

#272 for boys

First recorded

1880

10-year trend

▲ +70%

Gender split

0% girls / 100% boys

Famous people named Malcolm

Malcolm X

American Black rights activist (1925–1965)

Malcolm McDowell

British actor (born 1943)

Malcolm Turnbull

Prime Minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018

Malcolm Fraser

Australian politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (1930-2015)

Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).

Names with a similar vibe

Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Malcolm.

70,921 babies since 1895

66,270 babies since 1892

65,836 babies since 1912

64,197 babies since 1888

76,887 babies since 1906

63,259 babies since 1882

77,745 babies since 1880

77,964 babies since 1880

Get new name insights first

Occasional updates when we add new data & tools. No spam, unsubscribe anytime by replying to any email or writing to hello@zalize.com.

By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy. We store only your email address and the date you signed up.