Clan Malcolm
also MacCallum
Disciples of Columba — admirals and aimers-high.
Motto
In ardua petit
— He aims at difficult things
What does the Malcolm name mean?
From 'Maol Chalum' — disciple of Columba. 'Maol' is Gaelic for 'shaven head' or 'monk', invoking the followers of St Columba on Iona.
The history of Clan Malcolm
The Malcolm family settled in Stirling, Dunbarton and Argyll by the 14th century. The name itself reaches further back — to the followers of the Irish Saint Columba, who founded the monastery on Iona. 'Maol Chalum' means a disciple of Columba.
In the 18th century, Dugald MacCallum of Poltalloch — chief of Clan MacCallum — adopted the name Malcolm. The reason is not entirely clear, but he likely considered the names interchangeable through distant ancestral links.
Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm joined the Royal Navy in 1778 and in 1798 captured three Spanish gunboats in Manila Bay. As Commander-in-Chief of the St Helena Station, 1816–17, he won the 'warm regard' of the exiled Napoleon.
Notable bearers of the Malcolm name
- Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm