boy's name
Callan
KAL-an
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 16,126
the United States
#190
2025 births
Callan is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "battle" or "rock." It anglicizes Ó Cathaláin, from cathal — and it is also an Irish town and a river, so bearers may descend from either.
- Callan is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 1,983 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,672 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1957.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Callan over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1950s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 5 |
| 1960s | 5 |
| 1970s | 19 |
| 1980s | 312 |
| 1990s | 624 |
| 2000s | 814 |
| 2010s | 3,711 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 7,144 |
What Callan means
Callan means battle-mighty in its personal-name reading, from cath, battle. Taken from the place name instead it means a rocky or stony spot, and the two are genuinely separate sources.
Where Callan comes from
Callan anglicizes the Irish surname Ó Cathaláin, from the personal name Cathalán, a diminutive of Cathal — cath, battle, and val, rule. Separately, Callan is a town in County Kilkenny and a river in County Armagh, both from a word for a rocky place, and families from either took the name. The Australian usage is distinct again: the 1967 British television series Callan made the surname familiar, and its use as a first name grew from the 1990s in Australia and Ireland before reaching Britain.
Callan in use
Our data shows Callan rising and it first appears in our records in 1957. It belongs with Declan, Rory and Finn among Irish names that stayed within Ireland for centuries and traveled only recently — a group whose British and American rankings are consistently far apart.
How popular is Callan?
In 2025, Callan was given to 1,983 babies in the United States, ranking #190 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Callan is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Callan
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Callan also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Callan over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Callan
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Callan in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Callan
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Callan — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Callan
What does the name Callan mean?
"Battle-mighty" from the Irish Cathalán, or "rocky place" if it comes from the Kilkenny town — two separate sources.
Is Callan the same as Callum?
No. Callum comes from the Latin columba, a dove, by way of Saint Columba. They are unrelated.
Is Callan an Irish name?
Yes, from both a surname and place names, though its modern first-name use grew in Australia and Ireland from the 1990s.
How popular is the name Callan?
In 2025, Callan was given to 1,983 babies in the United States, ranking #190 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Callan a girl's or a boy's name?
Callan is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Callan?
Callan has 2 syllables.
When was Callan most popular?
Callan peaked in 2025, when 1,983 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Callan?
Callan is usually shortened to Cal.
Is Callan a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Callan currently ranks #36 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.