2000
#13,165
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,129
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.79
Rare Last name
Malm
A Swedish toponymic surname derived from the place name Malm, meaning "sand" or "gravel."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,304 Americans carry the last name Malm. That puts it at #14,325 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 148,765 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Malm 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
2.3K
1 in 148,765
Census rank
#14,325
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,009 bearers of the surname Malm in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14325th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Malm, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Black (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Malm
The surname MALM has its origins in Sweden and is a habitational name derived from the place name Malm. This place name is believed to come from the Old Swedish word "malmr" which means "sandy soil" or "gravel." The earliest known record of this name is from the 14th century in the city of Malmö, which was originally called Malmhauge.
During the Middle Ages, the name MALM appeared in various historical records, including the Swedish census rolls from the 15th and 16th centuries. One notable early bearer of this surname was Peder Malm, a merchant who lived in Stockholm in the late 15th century.
By the 17th century, the name had spread to other parts of Scandinavia and was found in Norwegian and Danish records as well. In Norway, one of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Hans Malm, born in Bergen in 1612.
In the 18th century, the name MALM began to appear in historical records outside of Scandinavia. In the United States, one of the earliest known bearers of this surname was Johan Malm, who immigrated from Sweden to Delaware in 1741.
Other notable individuals with the surname MALM include Anders Gustav Malm (1789-1865), a Swedish botanist and entomologist; Johan Malm (1856-1937), a Swedish architect who designed several buildings in Malmö; and Hjalmar Malm (1895-1978), a Swedish film director and screenwriter.
Throughout history, the surname MALM has been associated with various place names and has undergone slight variations in spelling, such as Malmö, Malmberg, and Malmgren. Despite these variations, the core meaning and origin of the name remain rooted in the Old Swedish word for "sandy soil" or "gravel," reflecting the geographic features of the areas where it first emerged.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Malm
Among Census respondents with the surname Malm, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Black (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Malm 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 Malm surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 1,810
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 74
- Black or African American2.2% · 45
- Two or more races2.1% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Malm
Malm 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
#13,815
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,188
+59 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 650 places
2020
#14,325
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,009
-179 bearers (-8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 510 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,165 | 2,129 | 0.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,815 | 2,188 | 0.74 | +59 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 650 places |
| 2020 | #14,325 | 2,009 | 0.67 | -179 bearers (-8.2%) | Down 510 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 Malm 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 | #13,815 | #14,325 | -3.7% |
| Count | 2,188 | 2,009 | -8.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.67 | -9.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Malm bearers went from 2,188 to 2,009 (-8.2% change). The surname moved down 510 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,815 to #14,325.
FAQ
Malm surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Malm?
Name Census estimates that about 2,304 living Americans carry the surname Malm. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 148,765 residents.
How common is Malm?
Malm ranks #14,325 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,009 people with the surname Malm. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,304), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Malm.
Has Malm become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Malm went from 2,188 recorded bearers to 2,009. That is a decrease of 179 (-8.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,815 to #14,325.
What does the Census say about the background of Malm?
Among Census respondents with the surname Malm, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Black (2.2%). 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 Malm in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (1,810 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Malm appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Hispanic (3.7%), Black (2.2%). 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 Malm (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 Malm mean?
A Swedish toponymic surname derived from the place name Malm, meaning "sand" or "gravel." 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 Malm (0.67 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 Malm?
Want to know how many people are called Malm? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.