Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Malcolm?
Births per year, rank history and how many Malcolms are alive today.
Malcolm (male), once a common boys' name, is now rarely given to new babies in England and Wales: just 21 in 2025, ranked 1307th. The name peaked in 1944, when around 3,100 babies were given the name, the 24th most popular that year. It has declined since 1944; the 2025 figure is roughly 1% of its peak. At least 87,000 babies have been named Malcolm in England and Wales since 1934. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
The Malcolm you are most likely to meet is around 73 years old. Half of all Malcolms born in England and Wales are between 61 and 79, and there are at least 66,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 20% chance that at least one of them will be called Malcolm.
How many babies are named Malcolm each year?
Where does Malcolm rank among boys' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Malcolm most popular?
Malcolm peaked in 1944, when around 3,100 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Malcolm?
At least 66,000 people named Malcolm born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Malcolm?
Most living Malcolms are between 61 and 79; the most common age is about 73.
Is Malcolm becoming more or less popular?
Well past its peak: today's figures are a fraction of the 1944 peak, though numbers have levelled off in recent years.