Calum

Meaning: Dove
Origin: Scottish Gaelic (from Scottish Gaelic, from Latin) — From the Latin name of Saint Columba

Nicknames: Cal

Boy's name · #799 in the US (2025) · Trending

Popularity over time

Calum is climbing: on the charts since 1978, it reached #799 in 2025 — its strongest showing yet, with about 310 boys given the name last year. Roughly 3,500 have carried it all-time.

Across the states

See where Calum is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 28 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Calum ranks in other countries and regions.

#180 in Scotland (2025) · #438 in Ireland (2025) · #896 in Canada (2024).

Famous Calums

Calum Chambers — English association football player
Calum Scott — English singer
Calum Worthy — Canadian actor
Calum Davenport — British footballer (born 1983)
Calum Jarvis — British swimmer

In stories & tradition

Calum — Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (film)

What Calums become

Among 142 notable people named Calum:

Sports figures appear 2.36× more often than among typical names — e.g. Calum Chambers, English association football player.

Spellings & nicknames

Calum is the less common spelling of Callum — about 9% of babies given the name are written this way; Callum itself ranked #118 in 2025.

About 390 boys a year are given Cal as their full name.

Similar names: Kallum · Macklin · Kaleo · Scout · Kallen · Callahan

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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