Find out how popular the last name Malamut is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Malamut.

Malamut, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Malamut surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Malamut in America

Malamut is the 103655th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Malamut surname appeared 173 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Malamut.

We can also compare 2010 data for Malamut to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Malamut

The surname Malamut is believed to have originated from the Inuit Malemiut tribe of western Alaska. This indigenous group inhabited the coastal regions and islands along the Bering Sea. The name Malemiut roughly translates to "people of the sea" or "maritime people" in the Central Alaskan Yupik language.

Historically, the surname Malamut was likely first adopted by members of the Malemiut tribe as they interacted with European explorers and traders in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. During this period, many Native American tribes began using surnames to conform to Western naming conventions.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Malamut name appears in the journals of Russian explorer Mikhail Murashev, who encountered the Malemiut people during his expedition to the Alaskan coast in 1786. He referred to them as the "Malemiut" in his writings.

Another notable early reference to the name can be found in the accounts of German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller, who traveled to Alaska with Vitus Bering's expedition in 1741. He documented interacting with a group he called the "Malemout" or "Malemuten" during his time on the Shumagin Islands.

Some of the earliest known individuals with the Malamut surname include:

1. Akulki Malamut (c. 1790-1865), a respected elder and hunter of the Malemiut tribe.
2. Nuvuk Malamut (1812-1878), a renowned whaler and sea captain from the village of Hooper Bay.
3. Agafia Malamut (1825-1902), a skilled weaver and basket maker whose works were collected by early anthropologists.
4. Kavigluk Malamut (1837-1916), a prominent leader and negotiator who helped secure land rights for his people.
5. Nadezhda Malamut (1860-1932), a skilled interpreter who assisted in translating between Yupik and English for traders and missionaries.

Over time, the Malamut surname spread from its Alaskan origins as members of the tribe migrated or intermarried with other groups. However, its roots remain firmly tied to the maritime traditions and history of the Malemiut people of western Alaska.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Malamut

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Malamut.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Malamut was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Malamut has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Malamut was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Malamut, please contact us.

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