Maly last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Maly is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Maly.

Meaning of Maly

A surname of Czech origin meaning "small" or "little."

Maly, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Maly surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Maly in America

Maly is the 12236th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Maly surname appeared 2,543 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Maly.

We can also compare 2010 data for Maly to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 12236 12299 -0.51%
Count 2,543 2,319 9.21%
Proportion per 100k 0.86 0.86 0.00%

The history of the last name Maly

The surname Maly originates from the Czech Republic and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Czech word "malĂ˝" which means small or little. The name was likely initially used as a nickname or descriptive name for someone of small stature.

The earliest recorded instance of the Maly surname can be found in a document from the town of Brno, dated 1187. This document mentions a landowner named Jaroslav Maly. Over the centuries, various spellings of the name appeared, such as Malli, Maley, and Malyj.

In the 15th century, a prominent Czech artist named Vaclav Maly (1440-1510) gained recognition for his intricate woodcarvings and sculptures adorning churches throughout Bohemia. His works can still be admired in several historic cathedrals in Prague and other cities.

During the 16th century, Jan Maly (1515-1582) was a respected scholar and educator who taught at the University of Prague. He authored several influential texts on philosophy and logic that were widely studied across Europe.

The Maly name also appears in records from the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). A military officer named Jakub Maly (1590-1652) is documented as leading a cavalry unit in the Battle of Nördlingen in 1634.

In the 19th century, a Czech playwright and novelist named Karel Maly (1815-1882) achieved prominence for his works that explored themes of Czech national identity and cultural heritage. His plays were widely performed and helped shape the burgeoning Czech literary canon.

Another notable figure was Alois Maly (1845-1920), a renowned archaeologist and historian who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Roman ruins and artifacts in the Balkans region. His excavations and research expanded understanding of Roman occupation in southeastern Europe.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Maly

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Maly.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Maly was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 92.73% 2,358
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.67% 17
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 3.26% 83
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.28% 7
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.90% 23
Hispanic Origin 2.16% 55

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Maly has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 92.73% 95.17% -2.60%
Black 0.67% 0.52% 25.21%
Asian and Pacific Islander 3.26% 1.85% 55.19%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.28% 0.22% 24.00%
Two or More Races 0.90% 0.73% 20.86%
Hispanic 2.16% 1.51% 35.42%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Maly was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Maly, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Maly last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/maly-surname-popularity/.

"Maly last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/maly-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Maly last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/maly-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.