Back in the 80s, Madison the mermaid splashed her way onto the streets of New York and fueled the last-names-first trend. At the same time, on the small screen, a similar choice was gaining notice of her own.
Thanks to Jess for suggesting today’s Name of the Day: Mallory.
Odds are that you’ve seen an episode of Family Ties, which followed the life of the Keaton family on NBC from 1982 to 1989 and launched the career of Michael J. Fox. Justine Bateman played Mallory, the sweet slacker daughter. If the writers ever mentioned the rationale for using such an unusual moniker – especially when their other kids went by Alex, Jennifer and Andrew – the reference isn’t readily available.
Regardless, it was a good decade for the name. While the very feminine Jennifer, Jessica and Amanda remained firmly at the top of the heap, other trends were gaining speed. Popular two-syllable, ends-in-y choices, often borrowed from the boys, included Ashley, Lindsey/Lindsay and Whitney. Last names like Jordan, Kendall, Darcy, Taylor and of course, Madison, all appeared in the Top 1000.
Mallory debuted at #334 in 1983, a year after Family Ties first aired. Three years later, she peaked at #86. While the name has dropped steadily since then, it remains far from obscure – #247 in 2007.
We suspect that Mallory has failed to reach the heights of similar names because of her unfortunate meaning – literally. Originally an English surname, it has French Norman roots – evolving from Malorie to Malory to today’s most familiar version. Any one with a smattering of high school French can unpack the etymology. The bit “mal” is attached to words not unlike the English “un” – heureux is happy; malheureux is the opposite. In Old French, maleüré would have translated to ill-omened, and so the commonly given meanings for the name are luckless, unfortunate, unhappy.
One of the best known bearers of the surname was early 20th century mountaineer George Mallory. He perished on his third attempt to peak Everest. Unfortunately, no one knows if he made it to the top or not. And, of course, there’s Sir Thomas Malory, the 15th century author of Le Morte d’Arthur. While little is known of Malory’s life, his name appears in the historical record with some frequency – he was often arrested and imprisoned.
Those two figures aside, there have been plenty of perfectly well-adjusted bearers of the surname. While we’re not overly focused on the meanings listed in baby name dictionaries, we’ll admit that this one – combined with the ill-fated explorer’s tale – gives us pause.
Still, we suspect that there will be a steady stream of parents willing to overlook that defect. The name has remained visible as Mallory Dent, a first-season character on the CW’s Veronica Mars and the faerie-fencing Mallory Grace in children’s book series, The Spiderwick Chronicles.
While you won’t hear it in use internationally, it also has the feel of a logical choice in the US. Mackenzie is past her moment, but Delaney is hovering at the fringes of the Top 200. And with some parents considering choices like Devony and Romilly, Mallory seems relatively conservative.
On balance, we find Mallory a reasonable option for parents who like the idea of a surname-inspired choice, but want something that reads strongly feminine. She’s never been a chart-topper, so chances are that your Mallory won’t share her name with many others – but it will feel nicely familiar.
My best friend’s name is Mallory, and she occasionally answers to Mal, Mally, or Mal-Pal. Her sister once tried to bestow her with Lory and she hated it. There’s also an interesting smoosh up of our names – Malloren – out there.
And about the negative meaning – my friend said her “ill-omened” name was discouraging, and was jealous of that same sister for being named after a song – Allison.
Personally, I absolutely hate my name. First of all, it isn’t as uncommon as some people think – I grew up knowing three other girls with the name Mallory, and I live in a relatively small city.
I also dislike it because the meanings suck (French – ill-omened; German – army counselor; and I’ve also heard it’s from the Latin word ‘mal’, meaning hell, evil, and Satan). Which is just dandy.
There are very few nicknames that can come from the name Mallory. At least none that are remotely interesting.
I would much rather be Alexandra, which I was originally supposed to be named. Multiple nicknames, people don’t have to ask you how to spell it, and I’d rather be defender of mankind than any of the meanings of Mallory.
Mallory, the Latin mal – evil – led to the French – in French, malheureux/malheureuse means unhappy. (Actually, I think it means downright miserable, as opposed to triste, which is sad.) But it is also present in plenty of English words, like malnutrition, where the meaning is gentler – poor nutrition, maybe.
So mal doesn’t mean Satan – and there’s an argument that negative names were given to ward off evil, like a talisman … so a name with a negative meaning might not have been intended as such.
I love my name despite for the negative connotation in French. I heard in German it means “army counselor”.
But is is SO great because there are so many Ashley’s, Caitlin’s (which is my middle name), and Brittney’s but every class all the way into college I was the only Mallory. When someone calls your name in the hallway, you know that they are only talking to you. There is apparently other Mallory’s/Mallorie’s/Mal’s out there. We have cool parents.
LOL – thanks for the comment, Mallory. It’s good to know that sometimes parents get a child’s name choice EXACTLY right.
And I agree – it’s nice to not be one in a crowd.
My Sweet Chiuahua’s name is Cecily Cream- Pie! She is beautiful, smart and ever loveable!
Be Unique, not fearful!
Some 20 years after first hearing the name Mallory (on Family Ties) I still hold the name on the top of my list for female name choices and happily due to have a girl in August!
I just learned the ‘meaning’ yet have also read that it can mean beautiful, strong and dedicated- which I prefer to focus on, as these are modern times and I believe it to be reasonable and expected that names and their meanings change.
Mallory, to me, sounds strong, yet femine, graceful and unique- but not too different.
Sixteen years ago, I named my son Dustin, when everyone was using Justin, and still today, it’s a strong, unique- but not too different name that along his travels, he has rarley comes across- nice!
so funny! my name is mallory and my brother is dustin. 🙂
my name is mallory and my brother is dustin too! must be a thing 🙂
Thats actually quite weird…. Becuase my name is Mallory, and my brothers name is Justin.. haha! My name was either going to be Mallory or Justine, but she named my brother Justin, so I got Mallory.
I think the meaning is so perfect!!! Very boystrus and wild! I love how its unlucky! Quite unique! although i hate how I dont get many nicknames, all my friends call me “Mallory”, my family is the only one who call me “Mal”.. I really wish they would call me Lory though!! Or Mali .. I do admire Mallory spelt like “Mahlorie” though!
I named my daughter Mallory!! I love the name despite the meaning of unlucky. But my daughter is kinda unlukcy she was born with one kidney also she was born on Jan 13 2009. I love her name because it reminds of my childhood from being a devoted fan to the babysitters club books and plus I loved family ties. My son’s name is Mitchell so I was looking for some with a M and double ll’s so Mallory just fit. Plus I gave her a very feminine middle name of Autumn.
As someone who HAS the name Mallorie, it’s not all bad. But the meaning does kinda suck. But there are very few with the name, so that’s nice when you’re in school. Though many people get your name wrong when they first hear it. As far as the meaning of Mallorie and Mal you get used to them as long as you find out under pleasant circumstances instead of reading it in a name book at school.
Although Mallory seems really modern, a sister of one of my ancestors back in the 1800’s was a Mallury. Her middle name was Volumnia. (Doesn’t that almost sound like a punchline?)
I am not too keen on the name. ‘Mal’ means ‘bad’ when it hits my ears, and it seems like the most likely nickname.
Yes, there was. I always wanted a huge family because of her. I also wanted to be a redhead. I was a prime age to read them, so I did, obsessively!
The meaning kills this one for me. I think naming a daughter Mallory is just begging for trouble. I also dislike Tristan/Trista because of the “triste” root (sad in spanish and other romance languages).
And, on the Family Ties question, I was always really, really bugged by Mallory with that sibset. No one, and I mean no one, would pick Mallory for their first daughter and Jennifer for their second. That would be like having a Juniper and an Emily . . . just weird. I also thought Elise was a bit of a stretch for her generation . . . how did she end up with this chic, French name? It’s always bugged me.
Kind of like Rudy on the Cosby Show though I’ve heard a theory that the character was originally supposed to be a boy but they liked the female actress so much that they just changed it a girl part but kept the name.