Explore the Family Name Malaga

The meaning of Malaga

Spanish (Málaga): habitational name from the city named Málaga, capital of the province of the same name in Andalusia. The placename appears in Latin as Malaca, but it is older, possibly Phoenician, meaning ‘port of refuge’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Malaga in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Malaga has increased in popularity over the years. In 2000, it was ranked 56,120 and rose to 36,204 by 2010, marking a 35.49% increase. The count of individuals with this surname also saw a significant boost from 341 in 2000 to 619 in 2010, an increase of 81.52%. This growth resulted in the proportion of individuals per 100k with the Malaga surname growing from 0.13 in 2000 to 0.21 in 2010, indicating a 61.54% rise.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#56,120	#36,204	35.49%
Count	341	619	81.52%
Proportion per 100k	0.13	0.21	61.54%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Malaga

In terms of ethnicity, the U.S. Decennial Census data reveals that there have been shifts within the ethnic identity of those carrying the Malaga surname between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander decreased slightly by 4.81% from 12.90% to 12.28%. Notably, those identifying as White dropped significantly from 40.47% to 20.68%, a decrease of 48.9%. However, those identifying as Hispanic saw a substantial increase from 44.87% in 2000 to 65.91% in 2010, an increase of 46.89%. During both these census years, no individuals with the Malaga surname identified as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native.

	2000	2010	Change
Hispanic	44.87%	65.91%	46.89%
White	40.47%	20.68%	-48.9%
Asian/Pacific Islander	12.9%	12.28%	-4.81%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%