Unisex name ★ peaked 2025

Callan

Meaning descendant of Cathalán Gender Unisex · 12% girls Rank 2025 #190 Trend ↑ Rising 166%

Borrowed from Irish Ó Cathaláin (“descendant of Cathalán”).

Rank 2025
#190
among boys · ↑52 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,983
named Callan · +31% vs 2024
How common
1 in 891
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2025
1,983 babies
All-time total
12,634
#1,130 all-time among boys
First recorded
1957
in Social Security records

Callan popularity over time

12,634 babies have been named Callan since 1957, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s – 5 5 1 – #4,060
1960s – 5 5 1 0% #4,115
1970s – 19 19 2 +280% #4,116
1980s 199 113 312 31 +1542% #2,370
1990s 372 252 624 62 +100% #2,134
2000s 272 542 814 81 +30% #1,794
2010s 322 3,389 3,711 371 +356% #525
2020s (to 2025) 305 6,839 7,144 1,191 +221% #190

Where Callan is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 2,269 1.33 #161
2027 2,619 1.53 #137
2028 2,958 1.73 #121
2029 3,281 1.92 #106
2030 3,583 2.10 #99

Where Callan is most popular

Boys named Callan per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.712 per 1,000. Strongest in New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Maine.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Callan born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Hampshire 57 2.57 +260%
North Dakota 37 2.17 +204%
Maine 40 2.06 +189%
Rhode Island 33 2.02 +184%
Massachusetts 265 1.93 +171%
South Dakota 33 1.77 +149%
Montana 31 1.76 +147%
Connecticut 116 1.71 +141%
Minnesota 199 1.62 +128%
Wisconsin 182 1.54 +116%
Iowa 102 1.48 +108%
Nebraska 63 1.45 +103%
Kansas 93 1.36 +90%
Colorado 174 1.35 +89%
Idaho 51 1.25 +75%
Oregon 93 1.23 +72%
Wyoming 7 1.21 +70%
Washington 191 1.17 +64%
Vermont 7 1.11 +56%
Ohio 278 1.05 +47%
Oklahoma 90 1.02 +43%
Utah 94 0.985 +38%
Pennsylvania 261 0.983 +38%
Virginia 177 0.933 +31%
Indiana 144 0.898 +26%
Alaska 10 0.840 +18%
Missouri 114 0.822 +15%
Tennessee 148 0.820 +15%
Illinois 209 0.818 +15%
Maryland 95 0.797 +12%
South Carolina 80 0.774 +9%
New Jersey 155 0.770 +8%
North Carolina 195 0.764 +7%
Michigan 151 0.737 ≈ national
Mississippi 38 0.669 -6%
Georgia 168 0.663 -7%
Delaware 10 0.660 -7%
Hawaii 10 0.644 -10%
Nevada 34 0.596 -16%
Kentucky 59 0.588 -17%
California 519 0.568 -20%
New York 242 0.559 -22%
Alabama 61 0.558 -22%
Arizona 90 0.550 -23%
Florida 260 0.549 -23%
Texas 480 0.545 -24%
Arkansas 32 0.506 -29%
West Virginia 16 0.490 -31%
Louisiana 35 0.342 -52%
District of Columbia 5 0.339 -52%
New Mexico – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Callan

Callan is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #190 in 2025 with 1,917 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1957, 12,634 American babies have been named Callan, about 88% boys and 12% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2025, when 1,983 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Callan stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Callan?

The median living Callan is about 4 years old; half are between 1 and 11. An estimated 13 thousand people named Callan are alive in the United States today.

median 4 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Callan year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 66 #2,616 1,917 #190
2024 53 #3,056 1,455 #242
2023 60 #2,828 983 #339
2022 45 #3,485 930 #354
2021 52 #3,122 868 #374
2020 29 #4,568 686 #434
2019 25 #5,185 542 #525
2018 45 #3,447 465 #589
2017 31 #4,497 365 #684
2016 34 #4,273 332 #736
2015 29 #4,750 365 #687
2014 29 #4,796 384 #668
2013 35 #4,177 286 #788
2012 31 #4,629 263 #830
2011 38 #3,930 234 #886
2010 25 #5,453 153 #1,180
2009 23 #5,927 81 #1,828
2008 34 #4,473 83 #1,794
2007 32 #4,585 76 #1,878
2006 23 #5,749 50 #2,454
2005 18 #6,589 41 #2,667
2004 28 #4,725 54 #2,166
2003 29 #4,443 42 #2,479
2002 26 #4,658 44 #2,341
2001 27 #4,468 42 #2,351
2000 32 #3,897 29 #3,005
1995 42 #2,849 15 #4,079
1990 41 #2,808 21 #2,968
1985 20 #3,999 6 #5,892
1980 – – – –
1975 – – 6 #4,866
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Callan

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Callan Mulvey Callan Mulvey Australian - New Zealand actor b. 1975 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Callan McAuliffe Callan McAuliffe Australian actor (born 1994 or 1995) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Callan, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Callan?

The median living Callan is about 4 years old. Half of all living Callans are between 1 and 11 years old.

How many people named Callan are alive today?

An estimated 13 thousand people named Callan are alive in the United States, based on 12,634 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Callan mean?

Borrowed from Irish Ó Cathaláin (“descendant of Cathalán”).

How popular is the name Callan in 2025?

Callan ranked #190 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,917 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Callan?

12,634 babies have been named Callan in the United States since 1957, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Callan most popular?

Callan peaked in 2025, when 1,983 newborns received the name.

Is Callan a boy or girl name?

Callan is used for both: about 12% of babies named Callan have been girls and 88% boys.

Is the name Callan rising or falling?

Callan is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Callan become more popular?

Callan is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 3,583 boys named Callan in 2030, which would rank around #99. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Callan?

Well-known people named Callan include Callan Mulvey (actor), Callan McAuliffe (actor).

Names like Callan

Names that sound and feel close to Callan: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Callan with similar names → More names starting with C →