Malcolm
A Scottish surname that began as a personal name meaning “servant of Columba,” the beloved Irish saint.
The #3,364 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 29,078 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname comes from the old Gaelic personal name Maol Choluim, usually explained as meaning “servant of Columba” or “devotee of Columba.” The first element, maol, meant “tonsured one,” “monk,” or more loosely “servant,” while Coluim refers to St. Columba. In medieval usage it was a devotional given name before it became a hereditary surname.
History
The name was established early in Scotland as both a personal name and, later, a family surname. It is especially associated with Gaelic naming patterns that produced many surnames beginning with Maol- or Gille-. The form was long linked by antiquarians with devotion to St. Columba of Iona, and that explanation is still the standard one.
Origin
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Fun fact
Older writers sometimes rendered the name as “Mavile Columb,” showing how strongly the religious meaning was felt in early explanations.
From the historical record
“MALBY for Maltby, q.v. MALCOLM \ (Celt.) (Shaven) Servant or MALCOM J Disciple of St. COLUMBA [Gael. mael, shaven one, monk, servant, disciple -i- Coluim, of Columba] MALDOON = Muldoon, q.v. MALE (Celt.) i Shaven One ; Monk, Disciple”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)