Malden was born in Putney, Surrey, son of Jonas Malden, a surgeon. He entered British naval service at the age of 11 on 22 June 1809. He served nine years as a volunteer 1st class, midshipman, and shipmate, including one year in the English Channel and Bay of Biscay (1809), four years at the Cape of Good Hope and in the East Indies (1809–14), two and a half years on the North American and West Indian stations (1814–16), and a year and a half in the Mediterranean (1817–18). He was present at the capture of Mauritius and Java, and at the battles of Baltimore and New Orleans.