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

Malet, 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 Malet surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Malet in America

Malet is the 98099th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Malet surname appeared 185 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 Malet.

We can also compare 2010 data for Malet 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 Malet

The surname Malet is of French origin, derived from the Old French word "malet", meaning a small travelling bag or knapsack. It is believed to have originated as a nickname for a messenger or traveller who carried such a bag.

The earliest recorded instance of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a William Malet holding lands in Cambridgeshire, England. This suggests that the name was introduced to Britain during the Norman Conquest in the 11th century.

In France, the name can be traced back to the 12th century, with a Gilles Malet mentioned in records from Brittany in 1164. The Malet family held significant lands and titles in Normandy and other parts of northern France during the Middle Ages.

One notable bearer of the name was Sir Thomas Malet (c. 1349-1399), an English soldier and diplomat who served under King Edward III and Richard II. He fought in the Hundred Years' War and was appointed Lord High Admiral of England in 1389.

Another prominent figure was Sir Baldwin Malet (c. 1360-1416), an English knight who fought alongside Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. He was later appointed Governor of Normandy.

In the 16th century, Hugh Malet (c. 1480-1554) was an English Member of Parliament and a prominent supporter of the Protestant Reformation under King Edward VI.

The Malet family also had a presence in Ireland, with Sir John Malet (c. 1528-1615) serving as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland from 1598 to 1607.

Variations of the name include Mallett, Malett, and Mallit, which can be found in historical records from various parts of Europe, particularly France, England, and Ireland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Malet

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!