2000
#16,609
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,590
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.59
Rare Last name
Malick
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "king" or "one who rules."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,560 Americans carry the last name Malick. That puts it at #19,828 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 219,714 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Malick surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
1.6K
1 in 219,714
Census rank
#19,828
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,360 bearers of the surname Malick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 19828th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Malick, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.8%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Malick
The surname Malick originated in the Netherlands and Belgium during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old Dutch word 'malen', meaning 'to grind', and likely referred to someone who worked at a mill. The name was initially spelled in various ways, such as Malekin, Maleykin, and Malycke.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the 13th-century Cartularium Campiniense, a collection of charters and deeds from the Campine region of Belgium. In this document, a certain Henricus Malick is mentioned as a witness to a land transfer in the year 1254.
During the 14th century, the name began to appear in Dutch and Flemish records, particularly in the provinces of Brabant and Limburg. A notable example is Godevaert Malick, a merchant from Antwerp who is recorded in the city's archives in 1378.
As the name spread across Europe, it underwent various spelling changes. In Germany, it became Malick or Malicke, while in France, it was often written as Malique or Maliche. These variations reflect the linguistic differences and local dialects of the regions where the name was adopted.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name in England was John Malick, a Flemish immigrant who settled in London in the early 16th century. He is recorded as having been granted citizenship in 1521 and worked as a weaver in the city's thriving textile industry.
In the 17th century, the name Malick gained prominence in Scotland, where a family of that name held lands in the Aberdeenshire region. Sir Robert Malick (1620-1689) was a notable member of this clan, serving as a member of the Scottish Parliament and as a judge on the Court of Session.
Other notable individuals with the surname Malick include:
1. Peter Malick (1786-1864), a German-American farmer and soldier who served in the War of 1812.
2. Anna Malick (1825-1904), a Polish-born textile worker and labor organizer in the United States.
3. Johannes Malick (1857-1932), a Dutch architect known for his work on churches and public buildings in the Netherlands.
4. Terrence Malick (born 1943), an American filmmaker and screenwriter, best known for directing movies like "Badlands", "The Thin Red Line", and "The Tree of Life".
5. Martin Malick (born 1968), a German professional tennis player who reached a career-high ranking of No. 48 in the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Malick
Among Census respondents with the surname Malick, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.8%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Malick bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Malick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.2% · 1,091
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.8% · 160
- Two or more races3.3% · 45
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 38
- Black or African American1.7% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Malick
Malick appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#14,902
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,986
+396 bearers (+24.9%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Up 1,707 places
2020
#19,828
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,360
-626 bearers (-31.5%)
Per 100,000 0.46
Rank movement Down 4,926 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,609 | 1,590 | 0.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,902 | 1,986 | 0.67 | +396 bearers (+24.9%) | Up 1,707 places |
| 2020 | #19,828 | 1,360 | 0.46 | -626 bearers (-31.5%) | Down 4,926 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Malick surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #14,902 | #19,828 | -33.1% |
| Count | 1,986 | 1,360 | -31.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.67 | 0.46 | -32.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Malick bearers went from 1,986 to 1,360 (-31.5% change). The surname moved down 4,926 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,902 to #19,828.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Malick
FAQ
Malick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Malick?
Name Census estimates that about 1,560 living Americans carry the surname Malick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 219,714 residents.
How common is Malick?
Malick ranks #19,828 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.46 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,360 people with the surname Malick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,560), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.46 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Malick.
Has Malick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Malick went from 1,986 recorded bearers to 1,360. That is a decrease of 626 (-31.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,902 to #19,828.
What does the Census say about the background of Malick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Malick, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.8%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Malick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (1,091 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Malick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (11.8%), Two or More Races (3.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Malick (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Malick mean?
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "king" or "one who rules." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Malick (0.46 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Malick?
Find out how many people are called Malick on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.