Malcolm

Did you know?

A few things about Malcolm you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Malcolm

Malcolm McDowell

British actor (born 1943)

Choose Malcolm and your child shares a first name with Malcolm McDowell, a British actor. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Malcolm, like who?” Malcolm McDowell's Wikipedia article is available in 83 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Malcolm McDowell on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 1,359 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Malcolm, 1,257 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Malcolm would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryMalcolm has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Malcolms, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 1928, when it reached #205.
• 📈Then vs nowMalcolm is 2.0× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 2,746 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 1,359.
• 📍Where it's lovedMalcolm is most popular in Maine, where it ranks #74, followed by New Hampshire (#121) and Rhode Island (#140). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningIn Scottish, Malcolm means “devotee of Saint Columba”. Our records link it to Arabic, Celtic and Celtic Gaelic roots.
• 🌍OriginMalcolm is the #7 most popular Arabic boy name in the US. That's out of 169 Arabic boy and unisex names in our list.

About the name Malcolm

Malcolm is a boy name of Arabic, Celtic and Celtic Gaelic origin meaning “devotee of Saint Columba”. It has 7 letters and 2 syllables, starting with M and ending in “-olm”. US birth records list Malcolm for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1928, when it ranked #205 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #272, with 1,257 babies.

Origin:Arabic namesCeltic namesCeltic Gaelic namesScottish names