Col1 Col2 Col3
0 Bob Joe 0.201079
1 Joe Steve 0.703279
2 Bill Bob 0.722724
3 Mary Bob 0.093912
4 Joe Steve 0.766027
set(['Steve', 'Bob', 'Bill', 'Joe', 'Mary'])
>>> df1 = pd.concat([df]*100000, ignore_index=True) # DataFrame with 500000 rows
>>> %timeit np.unique(df1[['Col1', 'Col2']].values)
1 loop, best of 3: 1.12 s per loop
>>> %timeit pd.unique(df1[['Col1', 'Col2']].values.ravel('K'))
10 loops, best of 3: 38.9 ms per loop
>>> %timeit pd.unique(df1[['Col1', 'Col2']].values.ravel()) # ravel using C order
10 loops, best of 3: 49.9 ms per loop