Colin

Did you know?

A few things about Colin you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Colin

Colin Firth

English actor and producer

Choose Colin and your child shares a first name with Colin Firth, an English actor and producer. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Colin, like who?” Colin Firth's Wikipedia article is available in 85 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Colin Firth on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 1,798 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Colin, 950 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Colin would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryColin has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Colins, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 2004, when it ranked #85. Today it's #343, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowColin was 3.0× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 603 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 1,798.
• 🍂TrendColin has slipped 56 places over the last five years and now sits at #343. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedColin is most popular in Massachusetts, where it ranks #91, followed by Washington, D.C. (#107) and New Hampshire (#130). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningIn Irish, Colin means “young pup”. Our records link it to Celtic, English and Greek roots.

About the name Colin

Colin is a boy name of Celtic, English and Greek origin meaning “young pup”. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with C and ending in “-lin”. US birth records list Colin for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 135 of those 146 years. Its best year was 2004, when it ranked #85 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #343, with 950 babies.

Origin:Celtic namesEnglish namesGreek namesScottish names