2000
#3,399
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,643
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.57
Uncommon Last name
Malcolm
A Scottish surname derived from the given name Máel Coluim, meaning "disciple of Saint Columba."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,935 Americans carry the last name Malcolm. That puts it at #3,364 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.48 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 28,718 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Malcolm 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 Malcolm with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
12K
1 in 28,718
Census rank
#3,364
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
10K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,408 bearers of the surname Malcolm in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.48 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3364th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Malcolm, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Malcolm
The surname Malcolm has its origins in the Scottish Highlands and dates back to the 12th century. It derives from the Gaelic words "mhall" meaning "bald" and "cam" meaning "crooked." This suggests the name may have originally referred to a person with a distinctive physical appearance or deformity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historical document that lists Scottish landowners who swore fealty to Edward I of England during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The name is spelled "Malcholum" in this text.
In the 16th century, the Malcolm clan was centered primarily around the village of Balquhidder in the Trossachs region of Stirlingshire, Scotland. The chiefs of the clan held the lands of Poltalloch in Argyll for several generations.
A notable bearer of the name was Sir John Malcolm (1769-1833), a British diplomat and military officer who served as Governor of Bombay from 1827 to 1830. He played a significant role in the expansion of British influence in India during the early 19th century.
Another famous Malcolm was the Scottish writer and poet William Malcolm (1617-1657), who is best known for his work "The Kalendar of Scottish Saints." He was a minister in the Church of Scotland and wrote extensively on religious topics.
In the field of science, John Malcolm (1837-1914) was a Scottish engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of early steam engines and boilers. He held numerous patents and his designs were widely used in the industrial revolution.
A more recent historical figure was Donald Malcolm (1901-1975), a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the 21st Premier of Manitoba from 1948 to 1953. He was a prominent member of the Progressive Conservative Party and played a role in the formation of the modern judicial system in Manitoba.
Throughout its history, the surname Malcolm has been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as Malcolmstone in Aberdeenshire and the village of Malcolm in Ayrshire, which may have derived their names from early bearers of the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Malcolm
Among Census respondents with the surname Malcolm, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Malcolm 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 Malcolm surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.6% · 6,309
- Black or African American31.3% · 3,260
- Two or more races3.4% · 358
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 347
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 61
Timeline
Historical Census data for Malcolm
Malcolm 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
#3,364
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,618
+975 bearers (+10.1%)
Per 100,000 3.60
Rank movement Up 35 places
2020
#3,364
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,408
-210 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 3.48
Rank movement No rank change
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,399 | 9,643 | 3.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,364 | 10,618 | 3.60 | +975 bearers (+10.1%) | Up 35 places |
| 2020 | #3,364 | 10,408 | 3.48 | -210 bearers (-2.0%) | No rank change |
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 Malcolm 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 | #3,364 | #3,364 | 0.0% |
| Count | 10,618 | 10,408 | -2.0% |
| Per 100K | 3.60 | 3.48 | -3.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Malcolm bearers went from 10,618 to 10,408 (-2.0% change). The surname held its position in the national ranking, remaining at #3,364.
FAQ
Malcolm surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Malcolm?
Name Census estimates that about 11,935 living Americans carry the surname Malcolm. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 28,718 residents.
How common is Malcolm?
Malcolm ranks #3,364 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.48 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,408 people with the surname Malcolm. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,935), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.48 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.48 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Malcolm.
Has Malcolm become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Malcolm went from 10,618 recorded bearers to 10,408. That is a decrease of 210 (-2.0%). In the national ranking it stayed at #3,364.
What does the Census say about the background of Malcolm?
Among Census respondents with the surname Malcolm, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Malcolm in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.6% (6,309 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Malcolm appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (60.6%), Black (31.3%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Malcolm (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 Malcolm mean?
A Scottish surname derived from the given name Máel Coluim, meaning "disciple of Saint Columba." 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 Malcolm (3.48 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 Malcolm?
See how many Americans have the surname Malcolm on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.