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At a glance

In short
Malcolm is a Scottish Gaelic name meaning devotee of Saint Columba, borne by medieval kings.
U.S. rank 2025
#272 of boy names
Babies in 2025
1,257 (0.068% of boys)
Trend
Steady #290 in 2020 to #272 in 2025
Peak
#205 in 1928
Top state
#74 in Maine
First recorded
1880

Meaning of Malcolm

Malcolm comes from the Scottish Gaelic name Máel Coluim, meaning "devotee of Saint Columba," the sixth-century Irish monk who spread Christianity in Scotland. Columba's own name is Latin for "dove." Malcolm is pronounced MAL-kum.

Four medieval kings of Scotland bore the name, including Malcolm III, who defeated Macbeth. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Malcolm is the son of King Duncan. Well-known modern namesakes include civil rights leader Malcolm X and author Malcolm Gladwell.

In the U.S., Malcolm reached its highest rank, 205th, in 1928, and was given to the most babies, 1,495, in 1992. After slipping to 599th in 2009, it has climbed back, and in 2025 it ranked 272nd with 1,257 babies.

How to pronounce Malcolm

English

Popularity of Malcolm in the U.S.

Malcolm was the #272 boy name in the U.S. in 2025, with 1,257 babies. It peaked at #205 in 1928 and has been in the top 1,000 since 1880.

Bar and line chart: Malcolm in the U.S., 1880–2025. Bars: boys given the name each year, most 1,495 in 1992 and 1,257 in 2025. Line: rank among boy names, peak #205 in 1928, #272 in 2025.
  • Boys named Malcolm (left scale)
  • Rank among U.S. boy names (right scale, #1 at the top)
By year, 1880–2025. Source: SSA. Download: PNG · SVG
Year-by-year table, 1880⁠–⁠2025 146 rows
Malcolm: babies and rank among boy names in the U.S. by year
YearBabiesRankvs previous year
20251,257272▲ 42
20241,093314▼ 21
20231,131293▼ 10
20221,220283▼ 2
20211,230281▲ 9
20201,170290▲ 37
20191,022327▲ 66
2018806393▼ 1
2017814392▲ 16
2016784408▲ 13
2015741421▲ 21
2014682442–
2013650442▲ 25
2012585467▲ 30
2011525497▲ 24
2010496521▲ 78
2009432599▼ 54
2008482545▲ 23
2007453568▼ 27
2006468541▼ 1
2005448540▼ 7
2004444533▼ 46
2003507487▼ 61
2002582426▼ 18
2001614408▼ 40
2000715368▼ 2
1999712366–
1998702366▼ 28
1997766338▼ 25
1996841313▼ 12
1995887301▼ 24
1994979277▼ 41
19931,225236▼ 30
19921,495206▲ 24
19911,299230▲ 11
19901,158241▲ 33
1989905274▲ 33
1988740307▲ 17
1987633324▲ 35
1986528359▲ 75
1985386434▲ 71
1984279505▲ 62
1983221567▼ 76
1982299491▲ 18
1981275509▲ 24
1980261533▼ 46
1979290487▼ 18
1978296469▼ 29
1977325440▼ 17
1976338423▼ 23
1975367400▲ 27
1974337427▼ 35
1973390392▼ 21
1972450371▼ 17
1971518354▼ 5
1970537349▲ 24
1969441373▲ 6
1968421379▼ 17
1967430362▼ 10
1966453352▼ 47
1965614305▲ 55
1964471360▼ 6
1963485354▼ 13
1962520341▲ 2
1961526343▼ 11
1960546332▲ 16
1959500348▼ 40
1958603308▲ 18
1957562326▼ 15
1956569311▼ 15
1955593296▼ 5
1954597291▲ 11
1953546302▼ 20
1952602282▼ 1
1951588281▲ 9
1950540290▲ 5
1949520295▼ 5
1948549290▼ 21
1947630269▼ 21
1946626248▲ 7
1945511255▼ 10
1944549245▼ 29
1943674216▲ 18
1942577234▲ 15
1941497249▼ 23
1940548226▲ 1
1939522227▼ 5
1938542222▲ 14
1937502236▼ 17
1936531219▲ 1
1935545220▲ 11
1934499231▼ 12
1933525219▼ 4
1932572215▼ 2
1931584213▲ 16
1930558229▼ 16
1929597213▼ 8
1928666205▲ 12
1927613217–
1926629217▲ 1
1925618218▼ 8
1924639210▼ 3
1923623207▲ 32
1922548239▼ 16
1921599223▲ 4
1920556227▲ 9
1919499236–
1918508236▼ 30
1917544206▲ 18
1916476224▼ 3
1915464221▲ 19
1914317240▼ 20
1913288220▲ 5
1912233225▼ 16
1911140209▲ 54
191086263▼ 23
190983240▼ 2
190878238▲ 48
190754286▲ 7
190648293▼ 52
190565241▲ 36
190446277▼ 11
190348266▼ 10
190252256▲ 38
190135294▼ 17
190055277▲ 17
189935294▼ 6
189840288▲ 51
189730339▼ 79
189648260▲ 56
189533316▼ 18
189434298▲ 43
189327341–
189230341▼ 44
189131297▲ 38
189027335▲ 3
188927338▲ 21
188826359▼ 3
188721356▼ 20
188625336▲ 162
188514498▼ 65
188418433▼ 87
188323346▲ 53
188220399▲ 17
188117416▼ 13
188018403–

Malcolm by state

Malcolm ranks #74 in Maine (2025).

Map: Malcolm's 2025 rank among boy names in each U.S. state
Rank among boy names by state, 2025. Source: SSA. Download: PNG · SVG
Rank by state 45 states and DC
Malcolm: rank and babies by state, 2025
StateRankBabies
Maine7416
New Hampshire12112
Rhode Island1408
Oregon14328
Alaska1655
District of Columbia1685
Washington17250
Iowa18023
Massachusetts18635
Pennsylvania18968
Kansas18921
Indiana19743
Montana2016
Minnesota20232
Colorado21031
Utah21424
Wisconsin22127
South Dakota2216
Illinois22453
Michigan22544
Ohio22658
North Dakota2265
Idaho23011
Kentucky23623
Nevada24312
Connecticut24913
Nebraska2669
Maryland26820
Virginia26932
New Mexico2707
Missouri27225
Arizona29526
North Carolina30939
New Jersey31327
Georgia31539
California317115
New York33054
West Virginia3305
Tennessee33526
South Carolina34815
Oklahoma35113
Arkansas3988
Alabama42212
Texas48569
Louisiana4879
Florida48937

Notable people named Malcolm

  • Malcolm X was an African American Muslim minister and civil rights activist who championed Black empowerment and Islam, remaining a controversial yet influential figure until his 1965 assassination.
  • Malcolm Timothy Gladwell is a Canadian journalist, author, and speaker, a longtime New Yorker staff writer with eight books, host of Revisionist History, and cofounder of Pushkin Industries.
  • Malcolm Young was an Australian musician, AC/DC cofounder and rhythm guitarist from 1973 to 2014, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 and ranked 38th greatest guitarist by Rolling Stone.
  • Malcolm Moses Brogdon is an American NBA player for the New York Knicks who played college basketball at Virginia under Tony Bennett.
  • Malcolm McDowell is an English actor who rose to fame as Mick Travis in the Lindsay Anderson film If and became best known for playing Alex in A Clockwork Orange.
More people named Malcolm 9 more
  • Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine, was a Republican businessman who served in the New Jersey Senate, twice ran unsuccessfully for governor, and was known for free market views and a lavish lifestyle.
  • Howard Malcolm Mac Baldrige Jr. was an American businessman who served as United States Secretary of Commerce from 1981 until his death in 1987 and was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1988.
  • Malcolm I of Scotland — Mael Coluim mac Domnaill, son of Donald II, became king of Alba when his cousin Constantine II abdicated to become a monk.
  • Malcolm Harris Levitt is a British physical chemist and University of Southampton professor renowned for pioneering NMR spectroscopy methods, author of Spin Dynamics, and a Royal Society fellow and Davy Medal winner.
  • Sir Charles Malcolm Barclay Harvey was a British politician who served as Governor of South Australia from 1939 to 1944.
  • Malcolm Andrew Ferguson-Smith is a British geneticist.
  • Malcolm John Edwards is a Cambridge educated British science fiction editor and critic, former deputy CEO of Orion who became chairman of Gollancz in 2015, and he lives in London with his wife, a public relations company CEO.
  • Malcolm D. Lee is an American filmmaker best known for directing comedies like The Best Man, Undercover Brother, Roll Bounce, Girls Trip, and Night School.
  • Malcolm Colin Cameron was an Ontario businessman and lawyer who served multiple terms in the Canadian House of Commons for Huron South and Huron West between 1867 and 1898.