Explore the Family Name Malan
The meaning of Malan
1. French: nickname from the Occitan word malan meaning ‘poor crop/harvest’ (from Latin malus annus) and, by extension, ‘misfortune’. This surname (in any of the two possible senses; see also 2 below) is also established in South Africa. 2. French: habitational name from Malan, the name of several places in the southern part of France. 3. English: variant of Malin and Mayland. 4. Czech and Slovak: nickname for a small man, a derivative of malý ‘small’ (see Maly 1). History: The South African bearers of the surname Malan (see 1 and 2 above) trace their origin to Jacques Malan, a Huguenot from Provence, France, who arrived in the Dutch Cape Colony via the Netherlands in 1688. He married Isabeau le Long(ue) in 1699. He is recognized as a French Huguenot ancestor by the Huguenot Society of South Africa. One of his descendants was Daniël François Malan, prime minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Malan in the United States?
The surname Malan has seen a rise in popularity according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, it ranked as the 18,492nd most common surname in America, but by 2010 it climbed to 14,787th position, reflecting a significant increase of 20.04%. The actual count of people with this surname also rose from 1,378 in 2000 to 2,007 in 2010, marking a substantial growth rate of 45.65%. Similarly, the proportion of individuals bearing the Malan name per 100,000 residents grew by 33.33% over the same period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #18,492 | #14,787 | 20.04% |
| Count | 1,378 | 2,007 | 45.65% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.51 | 0.68 | 33.33% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Malan
The ethnic identity associated with the Malan surname also experienced shifts between 2000 and 2010 as revealed by the Decennial U.S. Census data. While the majority of Malans identified as White (80.12% in 2010, down from 86.94% in 2000), there was a noticeable increase in those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic. Specifically, the percentage of Malans of Asian/Pacific Islander descent grew by 51.06% to reach 7.13% in 2010. Similarly, those of Hispanic ethnicity rose by 74.02%, accounting for 7.57% of all Malans in 2010. Meanwhile, the percentage that identified as belonging to two or more races fell to zero and a new demographic group emerged: 2.94% of Malans identified as Black in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 86.94% | 80.12% | -7.84% |
| Hispanic | 4.35% | 7.57% | 74.02% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 4.72% | 7.13% | 51.06% |
| Black | 0% | 2.94% | 0% |
| Two or More Races | 1.96% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |