Names/M

Malcolm

boys’ nameComebackCompare

Malcolm is ranked 314th among boys in 2024 (1,088 births). Its best rank was 205th, in 1928.

Rank in 2024
#314down 21 from 2023
Births in 2024
1,0880.06% of boys
Peak year
19921,495 births
Best rank
#205in 1928
Since 1880
68,941people given the name
Babies named Malcolm, by year of birthboys
05001k1.5k2k18801900192019401960198020002020

The story in the numbers

68,941 boys have been named Malcolm in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1992, with 1,495 births.

This is a comeback. After an early peak the name fell to a fraction of its former share, and it has been climbing again for the past decade.

Half of everyone given the name was born by 1974, and the 1990s alone account for 15%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000.

Rank among boys, year by year

Higher on the chart = more popularrank (gaps = outside the top 1,000)
#1#250#500#750#100018801900192019401960198020002020

By decade

Decadeboys named Malcolm
1880s209
1890s335
1900s564
1910s3,555
1920s6,088
1930s5,380
1940s5,680
1950s5,701
1960s4,906
1970s3,849
1980s4,529
1990s10,063
2000s5,145
2010s7,101
2020s5,836

In 1992, its biggest year

Malcolm was the 206th most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 1992 were Michael, Christopher, Matthew, Joshua and Andrew. See all of 1992.

Names that rose and fell with Malcolm

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.