Colin

Meaning: “young dog or pup”
Origin: Irish/Scottish Gaelic — Anglicisation of Coileán or Cailean

Meaning: The people's victory
Origin: Old French — Diminutive of Nicholas

Boy's name · #343 in the US (2025) · 2000s wave

Popularity over time

Colin's best rank, #85, came in 2004; it has settled back to #343 today. Roughly 134,000 boys have been named Colin since 1880.

Across the states

See where Colin is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 42 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Colin ranks in other countries and regions.

#63 in Sweden (2025) · #119 in Norway (2025) · #145 in Switzerland (2025) · #266 in Austria (2025) · #306 in Poland (2025) · #350 in Netherlands (2025) · #353 in Ireland (2025) · #358 in France (2025) · #363 in Belgium (2025) · #510 in Scotland (2025) · #1,551 in England & Wales (2025) · #308 in Canada (2024).

Famous Colins

Colin Powell — American general and diplomat (1937–2021)
Colin Firth — English actor and producer
Colin Farrell — Irish actor (born 1976)
Colin MacLaurin — Scottish mathematician (1698–1746)
Colin McRae — British racing driver (1968–2007)

In stories & tradition

Colin Creevey — Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
Colin Mallory — Sliders (TV series)
Colin Wells — Fictional character in the BBC series Spooks

What Colins become

Among 2,570 notable people named Colin:

Sports figures appear 1.62× more often than among typical names — e.g. Colin McRae, British racing driver (1958–2007).

Spellings & nicknames

Together with its spelling variant Collin (#493), Colin would rank around #228 with about 1,600 births last year — the newborns split about 61/39 between Colin and Collin.

Similar names: Collin · Bryce · Colby · Brady · Gavin · Devin

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

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