Let’s talk about nicknames for Malcolm.
After all, Malcolm counts as a classic boy’s name. It boasts plenty of history.
Depending on your perspective, your first thought might be Scotland. Malcolm does, indeed, have a Scottish origin. It means “devotee of Saint Columba.” Columba is credited with bringing Christianity to Scotland. Among the many notables, four Scottish kings answered to the name.
Or maybe you’ll think Shakespeare, though that’s really Scotland redux, since Macbeth is loosely based on one of the royal Malcolms. (Though in the play, Malcolm is the son and Duncan the king.) That makes the name literary.
So, too, does The Autobiography of Malcolm X, required high school reading for many. Born Malcolm Little, and later known as el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, the leader of the civil rights movement and Nation of Islam spokesman gives the name a place in more current history.
Of course, if you know your Hollywood blockbusters, Jeff Goldblum famously portrays mathematician and chaos theory expert Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park, and returns later in the series.
Journalist and best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell is another well-known figure.
Not only is it a classic choice, but nicknames for Malcolm abound! Let’s take a look at all of the options.
NICKNAMES for MALCOLM
CAL
The letters aren’t quite there, but the sound is.
COLE
This time, Cole flows logically from Malcolm – just as it does from the more traditional Nicholas and Nicolas. Of course, Cole is most often given as a stand-alone name today, but it could easily serve as a casual form of Malcolm.
COLM
The Late Latin Columba – meaning dove – became Colm in Irish. (Or Colum, Collum, Calum, or Callum.) Strictly speaking, Colm and Malcolm are cousins more than anything. But Colm looks like an obvious nickname choice.
KING
With so many Scottish kings bearing the name, could this regal nickname work?
MAC
Probably one of the top go-tos. Mack and Macky/Mackie are mentioned often, too. In our age of Jack, Mac feels cool, a little bit retro, and approachable, too.
MACE
Soften the hard C, and Mace becomes a possibility.
MAL
The Malcolm nickname favored by Nathan Fillion’s antihero in Firefly and Serenity, Malcolm Reynolds. It’s as obvious as Ben from Benjamin or Dave from David. And yet, Mal is also negative. In French, mal means evil – think malevolent. It’s often a little softer in English, but malcontent and maladjusted aren’t great associations, either. Mal works, but it’s easy to imagine parents seeking out other nicknames for Malcolm.
MALC
The go-to in Scotland, and much of the world, along with Malcy/Malkie.
MALO
It’s a separate name, borrowed from a saint and familiar thanks to the pretty French port city of Saint-Malo, a popular tourist destination in Brittany. So Malo is both a full name on its own and a possible nickname for Malcolm.
MAX
There’s no connection between Malcolm and Max, and yet, it’s not the most unreasonable choice, either. The simple nickname Max works for at least a dozen longer forms, so maybe Max from Malcolm isn’t unreasonable?
PAX
Speaking of stretches, Pax is the Latin word for peace. Malcolm is a devotee of Saint Columba, whose name means “dove” in Latin – the symbol of peace. Malcolm called Pax is a leap, but it’s a fun, short nickname option if you’re really open to creative nicknames.
What are your favorite Malcolm nicknames?
First published on January 25, 2018, this post was substantially revised and re-published on July 26, 2023.
As a Malcolm living in Scotland, the name is usually shortened to Malcy/Malky, Malc or Malcs – the latter two being more familiar. Calum used too. My US colleagues call me Mal – which feels odd and would never be used over here (not least because it means Ill in other languages).
We DID name our son Malcolm Reynolds ( & our Last name) from Firefly!!!
He goes by Mal, Malcolm, and occasionally Maui. (It was his friends joking around with baby talk “Mow-come” …that stuck and shortened to Maui), go figure. I do love Colm though!
In my extended family there was a gender reveal today: baby boy, to be named Malcolm. His parents like the nickname “Mac” and it seems perfect as his initials will be MAC.
Oh, LOVE! That’s just great. Congrats to your family. 🙂
Colin. Sure, it’s a completely different name but sometimes that happens with nicknames, plus it sounds similar to Malcolm to my ear. But if you want a more similar nickname go with Marco or another M short sounding name. Max is nice, but has no sound even remotely like Malcolm.
I love Mako as an edgier nn. Max or Cole would be perfect blend-in Starbucks nns. Mo sort of divides the difference.
As a sweet baby nn, you could also use “lamb” (“mal” backwards, essentially).
Mako is brilliant! And Lamb is just too sweet. 🙂
My husband’s Scottish father is named Malcolm and sometimes is called “Malc”. My husband’s brother is named Callum for his father and often goes by “Cal’. (He also has a brother named Andrew, another classic Scottish name.) I think Malcolm Andrew or Callum Andrew would be fantastic!
I vote for Mal. The TV show Empire has a character named Jamal and he is nicknamed Mal, which sounds so cool!
Malcolm and Callum have the same root in Columba so I don’t think Cal is too far of a stretch. Malec (like Alec with an M) also popped into my head. It’s not a recognized name, but seems like it could be.
My cousin is a Malcolm (and a delightful Malcolm!). We DO call him Mac, and also Malco (Mal-coh) and Malcs. We’re big nicknamers! He’s 30 now and I’m pretty sure his friends call him Mac or Malcolm.
If I had a Malcolm, I’d be tempted to nn Malco or Mally (which kind of reminds me of Remy in style).
Without reading any of the comments, Mal (like the captain of Serenity) was my first thought. I’m surprised it didn’t make the list.
I’m a huge Firefly fan, and am partial to the nickname used by the lead character, Malcolm Reynolds: Mal. Malcolm was in my top 3 when I was pregnant with our son, and I still occasionally mourn my lack of a baby Mal (our son is most definitely an Arthur, though, so my sads don’t last too long).
My favorite nickname for Malcolm for a young child is Mo. I also like it as a nickname for Timothy.
I think I like Max! It is unexpected but really works, it doesn’t seem like a stretch like some unexpected nick names could.
I like Mace, Mickey, Mako, from the list and comments. Ollie even makes sense to me. Maz instead of Max.
Cole I don’t know if anyone would guess to be a nickname.
My favorite nns from this list are Mac, and Max (kind a light nod to Malcolm X)…I grew up with a Malcolm on my swim team who just went by Malcolm. I really like it, it’s strong and has great meaning.
Would you and your husband possibly consider Callum? It also means dove and comes with a very easy nn of Cal…
Good luck and congrats on your baby boy!
This is a bit of a stretch, but what about Alec?
Independent ly when I saw the title, I thought of Cole too, so I think that’s Abby’s strongest idea.
Malcolm is a lovely name, and of Abby’s suggestions I think Cole is the strongest. As an alternative, maybe Ollie (pulling from the ‘ol’ in the second syllable)?
I could also see a Malcolm Kelly going by Mickey.
Building on this idea, I could see Malcolm Kelly going by Mako, like the shark. I know a family with a boy nicknamed Mako (But it has nothing to do with his name. I think it’s Owen.)
Upon further reflection, I see Malcolm could be Mako even without Kelly.
Like others, my first nickname idea after reading the title was Cole.