Malabon
city of the Philippines in Metro Manila
Malabon, officially the City of Malabon (Filipino: Lungsod ng Malabon), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 389,929 people. Located just north of the city of Manila, Malabon is primarily residential, industrial and one of the most densely populated cities in the metropolis, having a total land area of 15.96 square kilometers (6.16 sq mi)
Malabon is part of the sub-region of Metro Manila informally called CAMANAVA, an area which derives its name from the first syllable of its component cities: Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela. Caloocan lies to the south and east, Navotas to the west, and Valenzuela to the north. Malabon also borders the town of Obando in the province of Bulacan to the northwest.
Etymology
The name Malabon is from Tagalog word malabon, meaning "having many silt deposits (labon)." The name was previously also used for two other places in Cavite during the early Spanish colonial period: Santa Cruz de Malabon (now Tanza) and San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias). It is previously named as Tambobong, after the rural Tagalog word tambúbong, which translates to "barn".
History
Spanish rule
Originally called Tambobong, Malabon was founded as a visita (hamlet) of Tondo by the Augustinians on May 21, 1599. It remained under the administrative jurisdiction of the Province of Tondo (renamed to Manila in 1859) from 1627 to 1688.
Malabon played an important economic role in the late 19th century with the founding of La Princesa Tabacalera tobacco company in 1851 and the Malabon Sugar Company in 1878.
The public source identifies “Malabon” as city of the Philippines in Metro Manila. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Malabon, city and Philippines.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Malabon”, the useful work is to connect “city of the Philippines in Metro Manila” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q8861. VIAF identifies the subject as 141376599. Authority coordinates are 14.662, 120.957. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2024, 1599, 1859 and 1627.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Malabon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.