2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Malory
A surname derived from the place name Mallorie or Maloré, a small village in France.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Malory. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Malory 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Malory in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Malory, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.2%. The next largest groups are White (43.7%) and Two or More Races (6.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Malory
The surname Malory is of Old French origin, derived from the place name Mallorie, a town in Normandy, France. It is believed to have been introduced to England after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
The name Malory is thought to have originated from the Old French words "mal" meaning "bad" and "rie" meaning "stream" or "small river". This suggests that the name may have referred to a settlement located near a foul or unpleasant stream.
One of the earliest known records of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Mallorie" in the entry for Normandy.
The first recorded instance of the surname Malory in England dates back to the 12th century, when a Richard Malory is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1166.
In the 14th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Sir Thomas Malory (c. 1415-1471), an English writer and author of the celebrated work "Le Morte d'Arthur", a compilation of English tales about the legendary King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table.
Another notable figure with the surname Malory was Christopher Malory (c. 1460-1495), an English Carmelite friar and scholar who was appointed as the first Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Cambridge in 1490.
During the 16th century, the surname was often spelled as "Mallory" or "Mallorie", as evidenced by the birth of William Mallory (c. 1530-1585), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire.
In the 17th century, the name was associated with the philosopher and mathematician Thomas Mallory (1622-1665), who made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics and optics.
Another prominent figure was George Mallory (1886-1924), an English mountaineer and one of the early explorers to attempt to climb Mount Everest in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Malory
Among Census respondents with the surname Malory, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.2%. The next largest groups are White (43.7%) and Two or More Races (6.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Malory 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 Malory surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American46.2% · 55
- White43.7% · 52
- Two or more races6.7% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.4% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Malory
Malory 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-3 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,360 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,631 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 11,360 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 2,631 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 Malory 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 | #140,157 | #142,788 | -1.9% |
| Count | 119 | 119 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Malory bearers went from 119 to 119 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 2,631 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #142,788.
FAQ
Malory surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Malory?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Malory. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Malory?
Malory ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 119 people with the surname Malory. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Malory.
Has Malory become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Malory went from 119 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Malory?
Among Census respondents with the surname Malory, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.2%. The next largest groups are White (43.7%) and Two or More Races (6.7%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Malory in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.2% (55 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Malory appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (46.2%), White (43.7%), Two or More Races (6.7%). 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 Malory (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 Malory mean?
A surname derived from the place name Mallorie or Maloré, a small village in France. 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 Malory (0.04 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 Malory?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.