boy's name
Colin
KOL-in
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 168,042
the United States
#343
2025 births
Colin has two entirely separate origins — a French pet form of Nicolas, and the Scottish Gaelic Cailean. It ranks 363rd in both Ireland and France, an exact tie across five markets that reached it by different routes.
- Colin is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 2004, when 5,147 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,490 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Colin over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 46 |
| 1890s | 30 |
| 1900s | 34 |
| 1910s | 267 |
| 1920s | 412 |
| 1930s | 491 |
| 1940s | 1,919 |
| 1950s | 2,459 |
| 1960s | 4,184 |
| 1970s | 7,555 |
| 1980s | 17,822 |
| 1990s | 28,364 |
| 2000s | 39,198 |
| 2010s | 24,732 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 6,638 |
What Colin means
Colin means victory of the people if taken from Nicolas, or holly, or a whelp, if taken from the Gaelic Cailean. The two sources are unconnected and the readings share nothing.
Where Colin comes from
Colin arrives twice. In medieval French it is a double diminutive of Nicolas — Col, then Colin — from the Greek Nikolaos, nike, victory, joined to laos, the people. Separately, the Scottish Gaelic Cailean is a distinct name, variously connected to a word for holly or to cuilean, a whelp or young dog, and it is the hereditary name of the Campbell chiefs, who are styled MacCailean Mòr. The two fell together in English spelling, so a Colin in Glasgow and a Colin in Paris may carry no name in common.
Colin in use
Colin peaked in the United States in 2004, when 5,147 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 343rd in the United States on 950 births, then 363rd in both Ireland on 11 and France on 140 — an exact tie between two markets that reached the name by different routes — and 1588th in England and Wales, across 168,042 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Colin?
In 2025, Colin was given to 950 babies in the United States, ranking #343 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Colin 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 Colin
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Colin also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Colin over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Colin 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 Colin
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Colin — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Colin
What does the name Colin mean?
Victory of the people through Nicolas, or holly or a whelp through the Gaelic Cailean. Two unrelated sources.
Is Colin short for Nicolas?
In its French line, yes — Col, then Colin. The Gaelic Cailean is a separate name entirely.
Is Colin a Campbell name?
Cailean is the hereditary name of the Campbell chiefs, who are styled MacCailean Mòr.
How popular is Colin?
343rd in the United States, and 363rd in both Ireland and France.
Is Colin a girl's or a boy's name?
Colin is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Colin?
Colin has 2 syllables.
Is Colin a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Colin currently ranks #305 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.