Malcolm is a Scottish name from the Gaelic Máel Coluim and means "devotee of Saint Columba" or "servant of the dove", after the sixth-century missionary who brought Christianity to Scotland. Four Scottish kings bore it, Shakespeare gave it to the rightful heir in Macbeth, and in America it belongs above all to Malcolm X. Malcolm has risen from number 368 in 2000 and number 421 in 2015 to number 272 among boys' names in 2025, its highest rank in the SSA data since 2000.