2000
#5,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,602
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.08
Rare Last name
Mallard
A surname derived from the Old French "malart," referring to a wild drake or male duck.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,237 Americans carry the last name Mallard. That puts it at #6,065 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 54,955 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mallard 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mallard with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.2K
1 in 54,955
Census rank
#6,065
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,439 bearers of the surname Mallard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6065th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mallard, the largest self-reported group is White at 54.7%. The next largest groups are Black (37.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mallard
The surname Mallard originates from the Old French word "malart," which means "wild drake" or "male duck." This name has its roots in the northern regions of France, particularly in the Normandy region, dating back to the 11th century.
The Mallard surname was primarily used as a nickname or a descriptive name, indicating that the initial bearer of the name may have had some physical or behavioral resemblance to a wild duck. It was common practice during the Middle Ages to assign surnames based on occupations, personal characteristics, or places of origin.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Mallard surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Malard," suggesting that it was likely brought to England by Norman settlers after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
In the 13th century, the surname Mallard was recorded in various spellings, such as Malard, Mallarde, and Maillard, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling during that period. The name was particularly prevalent in the counties of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, and Buckinghamshire in England.
Notable individuals with the surname Mallard include:
1. John Mallard (c. 1460 - 1536), an English clergyman and scholar who served as the Headmaster of Eton College from 1511 to 1535.
2. Francois Mallard (c. 1590 - 1653), a French explorer and trader who was one of the first Europeans to navigate the St. Lawrence River in Canada.
3. Sir William Mallard (c. 1640 - 1715), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Malmesbury in the late 17th century.
4. Marie-Anne Mallard (1765 - 1835), a French painter and miniaturist known for her portraits of aristocratic families during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
5. Charles Mallard (1787 - 1864), a British engineer and inventor who patented several improvements to steam locomotive designs, contributing to the development of early railway technology.
The Mallard surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Mallard's Green in Oxfordshire, England, and Mallard Creek in North Carolina, United States, suggesting the presence of families bearing this surname in those locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mallard
Among Census respondents with the surname Mallard, the largest self-reported group is White at 54.7%. The next largest groups are Black (37.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Mallard 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 Mallard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.7% · 2,974
- Black or African American37.7% · 2,050
- Two or more races3.7% · 199
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 173
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mallard
Mallard 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
#5,289
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,583
+981 bearers (+17.5%)
Per 100,000 2.23
Rank movement Up 393 places
2020
#6,065
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,439
-1,144 bearers (-17.4%)
Per 100,000 1.82
Rank movement Down 776 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,682 | 5,602 | 2.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,289 | 6,583 | 2.23 | +981 bearers (+17.5%) | Up 393 places |
| 2020 | #6,065 | 5,439 | 1.82 | -1,144 bearers (-17.4%) | Down 776 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 Mallard 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 | #5,289 | #6,065 | -14.7% |
| Count | 6,583 | 5,439 | -17.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.23 | 1.82 | -18.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mallard bearers went from 6,583 to 5,439 (-17.4% change). The surname moved down 776 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,289 to #6,065.
FAQ
Mallard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mallard?
Name Census estimates that about 6,237 living Americans carry the surname Mallard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 54,955 residents.
How common is Mallard?
Mallard ranks #6,065 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,439 people with the surname Mallard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,237), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Mallard.
Has Mallard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mallard went from 6,583 recorded bearers to 5,439. That is a decrease of 1,144 (-17.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,289 to #6,065.
What does the Census say about the background of Mallard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mallard, the largest self-reported group is White at 54.7%. The next largest groups are Black (37.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Mallard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.7% (2,974 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mallard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (54.7%), Black (37.7%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Mallard (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 Mallard mean?
A surname derived from the Old French "malart," referring to a wild drake or male duck. 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 Mallard (1.82 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 common is the surname Mallard?
If you just want to know how common the surname Mallard is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.