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

Malcolm, 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 Malcolm surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Malcolm in America

Malcolm is the 3364th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Malcolm surname appeared 10,618 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Malcolm.

We can also compare 2010 data for Malcolm 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 Malcolm

The surname Malcolm has its origins in the Scottish Highlands and dates back to the 12th century. It derives from the Gaelic words "mhall" meaning "bald" and "cam" meaning "crooked." This suggests the name may have originally referred to a person with a distinctive physical appearance or deformity.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historical document that lists Scottish landowners who swore fealty to Edward I of England during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The name is spelled "Malcholum" in this text.

In the 16th century, the Malcolm clan was centered primarily around the village of Balquhidder in the Trossachs region of Stirlingshire, Scotland. The chiefs of the clan held the lands of Poltalloch in Argyll for several generations.

A notable bearer of the name was Sir John Malcolm (1769-1833), a British diplomat and military officer who served as Governor of Bombay from 1827 to 1830. He played a significant role in the expansion of British influence in India during the early 19th century.

Another famous Malcolm was the Scottish writer and poet William Malcolm (1617-1657), who is best known for his work "The Kalendar of Scottish Saints." He was a minister in the Church of Scotland and wrote extensively on religious topics.

In the field of science, John Malcolm (1837-1914) was a Scottish engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of early steam engines and boilers. He held numerous patents and his designs were widely used in the industrial revolution.

A more recent historical figure was Donald Malcolm (1901-1975), a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the 21st Premier of Manitoba from 1948 to 1953. He was a prominent member of the Progressive Conservative Party and played a role in the formation of the modern judicial system in Manitoba.

Throughout its history, the surname Malcolm has been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as Malcolmstone in Aberdeenshire and the village of Malcolm in Ayrshire, which may have derived their names from early bearers of the surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Malcolm

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

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 Malcolm 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 Malcolm 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 Malcolm was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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