 Born Malcolm Little, by 1949 he was signing letters as "Malachi Shabazz", before taking the name "Malcolm X".After returning from his pilgrimage in Mecca, he finally adopted the title and name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, seen as symbolic of his spiritual journey to Orthodox Islam.The surname was borne by his wife Betty Shabazz and his children, and has also been adopted by unrelated persons.