US rank #314 Boys' name Peak 1992 68,941 births

Malcolm — #314 US boys' name

68,941 babies named Malcolm in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1992. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s2091890s3351900s5641910s35551920s60881930s53801940s56801950s57011960s49061970s38491980s45291990s100632000s51452010s71012020s5836
#314
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 98% of names given to boys today.

1990s
Peak decade

15% of everyone ever named Malcolm was born in this single decade.

1992
Single peak year

1,495 babies were named Malcolm in 1992 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Malcolm

The Social Security Administration has registered 68,941 babies named Malcolm between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Malcolm currently holds the #314 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1992, when 1,495 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Malcolm performed strongest in the 1990s, accumulating 10,063 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Malcolm shows notable generational variation in parental adoption. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 5,699 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and Texas. In total, SSA state-level files list Malcolm in 50 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Malcolm in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 68,941 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Malcolm at a glance

Top 1,000 boys' name

Total births

68,941

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1992

1,495 births that year

Strongest decade: 1990s

Current rank

#314

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Malcolm popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (1992)
1,495
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-50005001,0001,5002,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 18

Malcolm popularity over time — girls

119 total births recorded since 1913 (Malcolm as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 119 births
4681012 1991198719731970194319271913 5

Malcolm by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1990s
Peak decade
1990s
10,063 births that decade — 15% of Malcolm's all-time total
1880s2091890s3351900s5641910s35551920s60881930s53801940s56801950s57011960s49061970s38491980s45291990s100632000s51452010s71012020s5836

Malcolm by state

Where Malcolm concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Malcolm
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
5,699 8.3%
#2 California
4,578 6.6%
#3 Texas
4,385 6.4%
#4 Louisiana
2,894 4.2%
#5 Pennsylvania
2,875 4.2%
#6 Illinois
2,751 4.0%
#7 Florida
2,682 3.9%
#8 Georgia
2,602 3.8%
New York share of Malcolm's total US births 8.3%
Even split

5,699 of 68,941 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 50 reporting states.

Malcolm appears in 50 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Malcolm?
68,941 babies have been named Malcolm since 1880. It currently ranks #314 among boys. The peak year was 1992 with 1,495 births.
When was Malcolm most popular?
Malcolm was most popular in the 1990s decade with 10,063 total births. The single peak year was 1992.
Where is Malcolm most popular?
The top states for the name Malcolm are New York (5,699 births), California (4,578 births), Texas (4,385 births).
How long has the name Malcolm been used?
Malcolm has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Malcolm?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Malachi, Malik, Malakai, Malcom, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Malcolm

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.