Saint Malo, after whom the camp was named, was known by many names since his birth around 520 in Wales. He is also known as Maclou or Maclovius, and perhaps as Machutus, a sixth century saint chronicled in Scottish legends.

St. Malo was baptized by St. Brendan and is said to have spent several years with Brendan in Llancarrven Abbey in Wales. It is generally believed that he was also with St. Brendan and 60 followers on Brendan's famous seven-year voyage in search of paradise, a paradise which he called the "Isle of the Blessed." The voyage was significant in that Brendan and Malo lived at a time when most people never traveled further than the nearest town. The Celtic monks, including Saints Malo and Brendan, were among the first people of the Middle Ages to venture out on the high seas of the Atlantic.

On his own voyages, St. Malo spread the gospel to the Orkney Islands and to the northern isles of Scotland. Sometime later, St. Malo went to Brittany on the north coast of France to Cezembre, on the Emerald Coast, and built a monastery. Around 543, St. Malo became the first Bishop of Aleth.

Sometime later, Bishop Malo was driven from his see by his enemies and settled at Saintes. Following a severe drought, the people of Aleth sent word to Bishop Malo begging him to return. Eventually he returned to Saintes to pursue a life of prayer and meditation where he died on November 15, around 620.

When Aleth (now Saint-Servan) was deserted, his remains were moved to the new town of Saint-Malo, which took its name from the saint. By the 12th century, the town of Saint-Malo was transformed into a walled city, fortified against sea attack, and it became one of France's most important ports.

The town of Saint-Malo was heavily damaged by German bombardment during the Second World War. After the war, the massively thick ramparts which surround the town and the old citadel were completely reconstructed. Today, Saint-Malo is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the coast of Brittany.