boy's name
Calum
KAL-um
- Origin Scottish Gaelic
- Gender Boy
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (Scotland)
- Births on record 20,533
the United States
#799
2025 births
Calum is a boy's name, the Scottish Gaelic form of Latin Columba, meaning dove. It ranks 179th in Scotland, its home market, and 799th in the United States on 313 births — against 3569th in England and Wales on just 6.
- Calum is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin.
- Peaked in Scotland in 1995, when 372 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in Scotland.
- Today about 1 in 1,525 babies in Scotland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1974.
Calum over time
Births per decade in Scotland, 1970s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2024, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 368 |
| 1980s | 1,271 |
| 1990s | 3,252 |
| 2000s | 2,019 |
| 2010s | 883 |
| 2020s (to 2024) | 163 |
What Calum means
Calum means dove. The Latin name behind it is the ordinary word for the bird, chosen by the saint who carried it rather than inherited.
Where Calum comes from
Calum is the Scottish Gaelic Calum, from the Latin columba, a dove. It descends from Saint Columba, the sixth-century Irish monk who founded the monastery on Iona and from there Christianized much of Scotland; his Irish name was Colum Cille, dove of the church. The dove was a deliberate choice on his part, carrying the Holy Spirit's emblem, so the meaning is a statement of vocation rather than a family inheritance. Malcolm comes from the same source by a different path — Máel Coluim, devotee of Columba — which makes Calum and Malcolm two names built on one saint, one from the name and one from the discipleship.
Calum in use
Calum ranks 179th in Scotland on 25 births, 382nd in Northern Ireland, 461st in Ireland, 799th in the United States on 313 and 3569th in England and Wales on 6. It peaked in Scotland in 1996, when 372 babies were registered, and is falling in our data across 20,533 lifetime births. The gap between its American and English positions is striking: more than fifty times as many American births as English ones, for a name whose home is a few hundred miles from London.
How popular is Calum?
In 2024, Calum was given to 25 babies in Scotland, ranking #179 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Calum is used
Figures for Scotland withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year, so a gap means the name fell below that floor rather than went unused. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Calum
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Calum also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Calum over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Calum
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.
Calum 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 Calum
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Calum — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Calum
What does the name Calum mean?
Dove, from the Latin columba by way of Saint Columba.
Is it Calum or Callum?
Calum is the Scottish Gaelic spelling; Callum is the anglicized one and is more common overall.
Is Calum related to Malcolm?
Yes. Malcolm comes from Máel Coluim, devotee of Columba, so both trace to the same saint.
How popular is Calum?
179th in Scotland, its home market, and 799th in the United States.
Is Calum a girl's or a boy's name?
Calum is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
What are the nicknames for Calum?
Calum is usually shortened to Cal.
Is Calum a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Calum currently ranks #179 in Scotland. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.