Mallory
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Meaning
surname, traditionally "unfortunate, unlucky"
The story
Mallory should have been a hard sell: it comes from an English surname rooted in an Old French word meaning unlucky. American parents shrugged that off. Only modestly used through the early twentieth century, the name climbed sharply in the 1980s, the very years the sitcom Family Ties put Mallory Keaton on television every week; we cannot prove the show did it, but the timing lines up. It has remained comfortably in use ever since, an established modern name rather than a fad. Today its most famous bearer is Mallory Swanson, the United States forward whose goal won the gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics, giving the unluckiest name in the book a winner's story. The chart below shows a name past its steepest climb but holding on steadily, familiar without being everywhere, which may be its own kind of luck.
How popular is Mallory around the world?
In the United States, 3,975 babies were named Mallory between 2020 and 2025.
Mallory is on the official records of the United States, Canada, England and Wales, France, South Australia and Brazil.
United States
1 in 5,500
In the United States, 3,975 babies were named Mallory between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Mallory peaked in the 1990s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 8,300
In Canada, 44 girls named Mallory were born in 2024, the 647th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 18,000
In England and Wales, 32 girls named Mallory were born in 2025, ranked 1,051st among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
France
1 in 18,000
In France, about 25 boys named Mallory were born in 2025, ranked 1,423rd among boys that year.
In France, about 10 girls named Mallory were born in 2025, ranked 2,366th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Mallory in 2017.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Argentina
last on record 2021
Mallory is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 26 people in Brazil were named Mallory, ranked 104,241st, with a median age of 9.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Mexico City City
last on record 2021
Mallory is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Montevideo City
last on record 1996
Mallory is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New Zealand
last on record 1988
Mallory is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
last on record 2020
Mallory is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Spain, Puerto Rico, Ireland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Mallory
Most people given the name Mallory in the United States were born between 1980 and 2009. The Mallory you meet today is most often in her 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Mallory deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Mallory truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Mallory fits with your family’s names and surname.
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