boy's name
Collin
KOL-in
- Origin American
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 83,907
the United States
#493
2025 births
Collin doubles the L of Colin, and the name underneath has two unrelated sources — a French pet form of Nicolas, and the Scottish Gaelic Cailean, which share nothing but a spelling. Its strongest market is the United States, at 493rd.
- Collin is a name of American origin.
- Peaked in 1996, when 3,369 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 5,356 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1895.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Collin over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1890s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 5 |
| 1900s | 14 |
| 1910s | 119 |
| 1920s | 191 |
| 1930s | 149 |
| 1940s | 405 |
| 1950s | 488 |
| 1960s | 883 |
| 1970s | 2,062 |
| 1980s | 6,249 |
| 1990s | 23,858 |
| 2000s | 27,909 |
| 2010s | 15,702 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,928 |
What Collin means
Collin means victory of the people if taken from Nicolas, or holly or a whelp if taken from Cailean. The two parent names are unconnected and the readings share nothing.
Where Collin comes from
Collin respells Colin, which arrives by two routes. In medieval French it is a double diminutive of Nicolas — Col, then Colin — from the Greek Nikolaos, victory of the people. Separately the Scottish Gaelic Cailean is a distinct name, connected either to holly or to cuilean, a whelp, and it is the hereditary name of the Campbell chiefs. The doubled L is an American respelling and much the smaller of the two in our data.
Collin in use
Collin peaked in the United States in 1996, when 3,369 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in three of the seven markets we track — 493rd in the United States on 619 births, 1473rd in Canada and 2709th in France — across 83,907 lifetime births. Colin, the standard spelling, is written up separately and charts in four markets.
How popular is Collin?
In 2025, Collin was given to 619 babies in the United States, ranking #493 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Collin 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 Collin
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Collin also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Collin over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Collin 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.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Cailean
Sibling names for Collin
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Collin — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Collin
What does the name Collin mean?
Victory of the people through Nicolas, or holly through the Gaelic Cailean. The two are unrelated.
Is it Collin or Colin?
Colin is the standard spelling; Collin is an American respelling and the smaller of the two.
Is Colin a Campbell name?
Cailean is — the Campbell chiefs are styled MacCailean Mòr.
How popular is Collin?
493rd in the United States, down from a 1996 peak of 3,369 births.
Is Collin a girl's or a boy's name?
Collin is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Collin?
Collin has 2 syllables.
Is Collin a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Collin currently ranks #493 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.