2000
#74,398
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 242
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.09
Very Rare Last name
Malle
A variant of the French surname "Malet", derived from the Old Germanic word "mal" meaning speech or council.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 349 Americans carry the last name Malle. That puts it at #69,562 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 982,104 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Malle 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
349
1 in 982,104
Census rank
#69,562
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
304
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 304 bearers of the surname Malle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 69562nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Malle, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (18.1%) and Black (8.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Malle
The surname MALLE originated in France during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "malle," which referred to a type of traveling chest or trunk. This suggests that the name may have been an occupational name for someone who made or sold such chests.
The name MALLE first appeared in records from the northern regions of France, particularly in areas like Normandy and Picardy. It was sometimes spelled as "Malle" or "Mallet" in these early records.
One of the earliest known references to the name MALLE can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a landowner named "Robert Malle" in Buckinghamshire.
In the 13th century, there are records of a prominent French family named MALLE who held land and titles in the region of Champagne. Notable members of this family include Gilles MALLE (c. 1240-1310), who was a knight and nobleman, and his son, Jacques MALLE (c. 1275-1348), who served as a military commander during the Hundred Years' War.
During the Renaissance period, the name MALLE was also associated with several notable scholars and artists. One example is Jean MALLE (1515-1585), a French humanist and writer who authored several works on philosophy and literature.
In the 17th century, the name MALLE appeared in connection with several places in France, such as the village of Malle in the Poitou region and the town of Malle-sur-Sarthe in Normandy. This suggests that some branches of the MALLE family may have taken their names from these locations.
Another notable figure with the surname MALLE was Louis-François MALLE (1743-1829), a French architect and engineer who was involved in the construction of several important buildings and infrastructure projects in Paris.
Throughout history, the MALLE surname has been carried by various other individuals, including artists, writers, and military figures, such as the 19th-century French painter Édouard MALLE (1835-1904) and the 20th-century French filmmaker Louis MALLE (1932-1995).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Malle
Among Census respondents with the surname Malle, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (18.1%) and Black (8.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Malle 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 Malle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.8% · 188
- Asian and Pacific Islander18.1% · 55
- Black or African American8.9% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 18
- Two or more races4.3% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Malle
Malle 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
#67,747
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 291
+49 bearers (+20.2%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Up 6,651 places
2020
#69,562
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 304
+13 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 1,815 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #74,398 | 242 | 0.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #67,747 | 291 | 0.10 | +49 bearers (+20.2%) | Up 6,651 places |
| 2020 | #69,562 | 304 | 0.10 | +13 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 1,815 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 Malle 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 | #67,747 | #69,562 | -2.7% |
| Count | 291 | 304 | 4.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.10 | 0.10 | 1.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Malle bearers went from 291 to 304 (+4.5% change). The surname moved down 1,815 positions in the national ranking, going from #67,747 to #69,562.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Malle
FAQ
Malle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Malle?
Name Census estimates that about 349 living Americans carry the surname Malle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 982,104 residents.
How common is Malle?
Malle ranks #69,562 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.10 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 304 people with the surname Malle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (349), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.10 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 Malle.
Has Malle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Malle went from 291 recorded bearers to 304. That is an increase of 13 (+4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #67,747 to #69,562.
What does the Census say about the background of Malle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Malle, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (18.1%) and Black (8.9%). 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 Malle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.8% (188 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Malle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (18.1%), Black (8.9%). 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 Malle (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 Malle mean?
A variant of the French surname "Malet", derived from the Old Germanic word "mal" meaning speech or council. 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 Malle (0.10 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 Malle?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Malle on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.