2000
#1,944
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,987
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.30
Uncommon Last name
Mallory
An English surname derived from Old French meaning "unfortunate" or "unlucky."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,139 Americans carry the last name Mallory. That puts it at #2,108 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,909 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mallory 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 Mallory with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 17,909
Census rank
#2,108
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,690 bearers of the surname Mallory in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2108th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mallory, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.7%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mallory
The surname Mallory originated in Normandy, a region in northern France, during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French words "mal" meaning "ill" and "orie" meaning "fortune," together meaning "unlucky" or "unfortunate." The name may have been given as a nickname to someone who was considered unlucky or who had experienced misfortune.
The Mallory surname first appeared in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It was likely brought to England by Norman settlers and knights who accompanied William the Conqueror. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror.
In the 12th century, the name appears in the records of the Knights Templar, a prominent Catholic military order during the Crusades. Sir Robert Mallory was a notable Knight Templar who participated in the Third Crusade in the late 12th century.
During the 13th century, the Mallory surname was associated with the village of Mallory in Yorkshire, England. It is believed that the name may have derived from this place name, which was originally spelled "Malorie" or "Malore."
One of the earliest notable figures with the Mallory surname was Sir John Mallory, who lived in the late 14th century and served as a Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire in 1379. Another prominent individual was Sir Thomas Mallory, a 15th-century English writer best known for compiling the legendary tales of King Arthur into the famous work "Le Morte d'Arthur," published in 1485.
In the 16th century, the Mallory family established themselves as landowners and gentry in various parts of England, particularly in Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire. Sir Christopher Mallory, born in 1492, was a Member of Parliament for Ripon and held estates in Yorkshire.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, the Mallory family aligned themselves with the Royalist cause, supporting King Charles I. Sir John Mallory, born in 1610, was a Royalist commander who fought against the Parliamentarians and was eventually captured and imprisoned.
Other notable figures with the Mallory surname include George Mallory, a famous English mountaineer who participated in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 20th century and may have been the first person to reach the summit in 1924, before tragically dying on the descent.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mallory
Among Census respondents with the surname Mallory, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.7%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Mallory 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 Mallory surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.2% · 10,050
- Black or African American30.7% · 5,119
- Two or more races4.7% · 779
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 538
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 130
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 74
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mallory
Mallory 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
#2,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,578
+591 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 5.96
Rank movement Down 104 places
2020
#2,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,690
-888 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 5.58
Rank movement Down 60 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,944 | 16,987 | 6.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,048 | 17,578 | 5.96 | +591 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 104 places |
| 2020 | #2,108 | 16,690 | 5.58 | -888 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 60 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 Mallory 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 | #2,048 | #2,108 | -2.9% |
| Count | 17,578 | 16,690 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 5.96 | 5.58 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mallory bearers went from 17,578 to 16,690 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 60 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,048 to #2,108.
FAQ
Mallory surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mallory?
Name Census estimates that about 19,139 living Americans carry the surname Mallory. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,909 residents.
How common is Mallory?
Mallory ranks #2,108 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.58 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,690 people with the surname Mallory. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.58 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Mallory.
Has Mallory become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mallory went from 17,578 recorded bearers to 16,690. That is a decrease of 888 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,048 to #2,108.
What does the Census say about the background of Mallory?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mallory, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.7%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Mallory in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.2% (10,050 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mallory appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (60.2%), Black (30.7%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Mallory (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 Mallory mean?
An English surname derived from Old French meaning "unfortunate" or "unlucky." 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 Mallory (5.58 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 have the surname Mallory?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.