Mal

#9,399 in 2025Boys' name

Short form of Mallory or Malcolm

Mal has been given to 343 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #9,399 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1950, with 13 recorded.

Babies named Mal, 2025

1 in 414,000

Mal over time, 1880–2025

Boys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Mal: meaning, origin, and history

Short form of Mallory or Malcolm

Spanish

What Mal means

Mal is a short form of Mallory or Malcolm.

Origin, language, and formation

Mal is used in English and Mam. Its origins include Spanish.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Mallory, Malcolm and Mary.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 343 boys were recorded with the name Mal between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 13 in 1950; its best national rank was #785 in 1880.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #10,193 in 2020 to #9,399 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Mal?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025: 1 in 414,000; 8 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only: 1 in 213,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025: #9,399; of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size: 287,238 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Mal sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 287,238 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Mal. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Mals were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Mal was born before 1950 — so the typical Mal is around 75 today.

Median birth year: 1950; About 75 years old
Biggest decade: 1950s; 24.5% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 14.9%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 174; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1950s — 24.5% of all recorded uses (84).

Is Mal rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: +2,433; Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago: +794; Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 61.5%; Peak was 1950 (13)
Years since peak: 75; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 29.0% average annual change
Best rank ever: #785; 1880

Mal around the world

Where Mal ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

England & Wales
2004–2024
#5,120
in 2024
South Australia
2007–2007
#680
in 2007

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Mal by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: #9,399
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: Up 794
Best rank ever: #785; 1880
Peak year: 1950; 13 that year
First recorded: 1880
Last recorded: 2025
All-time count: 343
Count in 2025: 8

Names similar to Mal

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Malyk Malak Amal Mali Malo Maliq Malone Kemal Malosi Malick Malon Malikhi Gamal Malikye Malin Malekai Maliek Malakye Malichi Malhar Maliki Maleko Maleik Mallie

Sibling names for Mal

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Oralia Louann Nona Ernestina Judi Evonne Jonnie Bonita

For a brother

Rogers Lupe Jacky Garth Stanford Hayward Nicky Sandy

Explore around Mal

Top names of 1950, Mal's peak year The 1950s in full Other names that peaked in 1880 Boys' names starting with M