Malcolme as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Malcolme

What is the meaning of the name Malcolme ?

The baby name Malcolme is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈmæl.kəm/ (MAL-kəm).

Malcolme is Scottish Gaelic in Origin.

Malcolme is a rare English spelling of Malcolm, from Scottish Gaelic Máel Coluim (also Maol Coluim), meaning “devotee” or “tonsured follower” of Columba. The first element máel referred to a monk’s shaven head, while Coluim is the genitive of Columba (Colum), the revered 6th‑century missionary linked to Iona. The name carries a strong ecclesiastical and Scottish cultural resonance and is commonly pronounced MAL-kəm.

Borne by several medieval Scottish kings - Malcolm I, II, III (Canmore), and IV - the name became widely familiar in the Anglophone world and gained literary prominence through Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The Malcolme spelling appears sporadically in early modern parish records and period texts; today it reads as an archaizing or genealogical variant, with Malcolm the standard form. Other variants include Malcom and Malcome; medieval Gaelic forms are Máel Coluim/Maol Coluim. Diminutives include Mal and the Scots Malky. A feminine derivative, Malcolmina, occurs in Scottish records.

⚙ Malcolme is exceptionally rare. Our whole dataset turns up only 3 recorded uses, across 2 countries.