How Many People Are Named Malcolm?
An estimated 48,509 people in the United States have the first name Malcolm. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 38 years old, and Malcolm peaked in popularity in 1992 with 1,495 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Malcolm as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Malcolm paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Malcolm is overwhelmingly male, 119 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
48,509
About 1 in 7,066 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.8% confidence
Average Age
38
years old
Peak Year
1992
1,495 births
Total Registered
69,060
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Malcolm
Malcolm is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 69,060 total births registered, 99.8% were male.
Malcolm as a male name
Ranked #314 in 2024
1,088 male births in 2024
Peak: 1992 (1,495 births)
Malcolm as a female name
Ranked #11,004 in 1991
7 female births in 1991
Peak: 1988 (11 births)
Malcolm: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Malcolm span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1990s, when 10,075 babies were registered. While Malcolm is less common than at its peak in the 1990s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Malcolm by Decade
How has Malcolm tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 209 | 209 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 335 | 335 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 564 | 564 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 3,565 | 3,555 | 10 | |
| 1920s | 6,113 | 6,088 | 25 | |
| 1930s | 5,385 | 5,380 | 5 | |
| 1940s | 5,685 | 5,680 | 5 | |
| 1950s | 5,711 | 5,701 | 10 | |
| 1960s | 4,906 | 4,906 | 0 | |
| 1970s | 3,877 | 3,849 | 28 | |
| 1980s | 4,553 | 4,529 | 24 | |
| 1990s | 10,075 | 10,063 | 12 | |
| 2000s | 5,145 | 5,145 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 7,101 | 7,101 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 5,836 | 5,836 | 0 | |
Malcolm by State
Birth registrations for Malcolm span all 50 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Texas. The lowest are in Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota. On average, about 1,274 Malcolms were registered per state.
Malcolm + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Malcolm as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Malcolm
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Malcolm: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Malcolm?
We estimate approximately 48,509 people named Malcolm are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 7,066 Americans share this first name.
Is Malcolm a common name?
Malcolm is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 69,060 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Malcolm most popular?
Malcolm reached peak popularity in 1992, when 1,495 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Malcolm is approximately 38 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Malcolm a male name?
Malcolm is predominantly male. 99.8% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Malcolm Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Malcolm Smith, Malcolm Johnson, Malcolm Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me