boys' name ★ peaked 2004

Colin

Gender Boy Rank 2025 #343 Trend ↓ Falling 23%

A male given name A diminutive of the male given name Nicholas, from Ancient Greek.

Rank 2025
#343
among boys · ↓8 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
950
named Colin · -8% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,798
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2004
5,147 babies
All-time total
134,151
#252 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Colin popularity over time

134,151 babies have been named Colin since 1880, 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
0.751.52.25318801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – 46 46 5 – #780
1890s – 30 30 3 -35% #802
1900s – 34 34 3 +13% #896
1910s – 267 267 27 +685% #989
1920s – 412 412 41 +54% #939
1930s – 491 491 49 +19% #771
1940s – 1,919 1,919 192 +291% #323
1950s – 2,459 2,459 246 +28% #443
1960s 22 4,162 4,184 418 +70% #321
1970s 71 7,484 7,555 756 +81% #207
1980s 150 17,672 17,822 1,782 +136% #126
1990s 106 28,258 28,364 2,836 +59% #119
2000s 69 39,129 39,198 3,920 +38% #85
2010s 17 24,715 24,732 2,473 -37% #111
2020s (to 2025) 10 6,628 6,638 1,106 -55% #269

Where Colin 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 908 0.53 #360
2027 873 0.51 #368
2028 845 0.49 #375
2029 822 0.48 #386
2030 803 0.47 #398

Where Colin is most popular

Boys named Colin per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.631 per 1,000. Strongest in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and District of Columbia.

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 Colin 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
Massachusetts 359 2.61 +314%
New Hampshire 55 2.48 +292%
District of Columbia 34 2.30 +265%
Connecticut 140 2.07 +228%
Rhode Island 27 1.66 +162%
New Jersey 327 1.62 +157%
Pennsylvania 404 1.52 +141%
Maine 28 1.44 +129%
Illinois 297 1.16 +84%
New York 475 1.10 +74%
Maryland 121 1.01 +61%
Delaware 13 0.857 +36%
Missouri 117 0.844 +34%
Virginia 156 0.822 +30%
Ohio 214 0.807 +28%
Oregon 59 0.777 +23%
Kansas 51 0.744 +18%
Minnesota 88 0.717 +14%
Wisconsin 84 0.709 +12%
North Carolina 175 0.685 +9%
Colorado 85 0.659 ≈ national
Michigan 127 0.620 ≈ national
Washington 101 0.617 ≈ national
Kentucky 60 0.598 -5%
Georgia 151 0.596 -6%
Iowa 41 0.595 -6%
South Carolina 58 0.561 -11%
Nevada 31 0.544 -14%
California 493 0.539 -15%
Mississippi 29 0.510 -19%
Florida 238 0.503 -20%
Tennessee 87 0.482 -24%
Louisiana 46 0.450 -29%
Indiana 70 0.437 -31%
Utah 40 0.419 -34%
Nebraska 16 0.368 -42%
Arizona 59 0.361 -43%
Oklahoma 31 0.350 -44%
Alabama 38 0.348 -45%
Montana 6 0.340 -46%
South Dakota 6 0.322 -49%
Texas 260 0.295 -53%
Arkansas 18 0.284 -55%
West Virginia 8 0.245 -61%
Idaho 5 0.122 -81%
Alaska – – –
Hawaii – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Mexico – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

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 Colin

Colin is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #343 in 2025 with 950 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 134,151 American babies have been named Colin. Its peak came in 2004, when 5,147 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

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 Colin stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Colin?

The median living Colin is about 24 years old; half are between 16 and 35. An estimated 128 thousand people named Colin are alive in the United States today.

median 24 020406080100

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

Colin 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 – – 950 #343
2024 – – 1,038 #335
2023 – – 1,004 #334
2022 – – 1,170 #293
2021 5 #15,766 1,289 #269
2020 5 #15,643 1,177 #287
2019 – – 1,394 #260
2018 – – 1,479 #249
2017 – – 1,666 #228
2016 – – 2,052 #198
2015 5 #17,030 2,424 #172
2014 5 #17,148 2,883 #142
2013 – – 3,041 #125
2012 – – 3,022 #124
2011 7 #13,682 3,265 #121
2010 – – 3,489 #111
2009 – – 3,657 #113
2008 – – 3,732 #114
2007 6 #15,930 3,608 #119
2006 5 #17,728 3,861 #111
2005 8 #12,073 4,532 #95
2004 25 #5,096 5,122 #85
2003 7 #12,695 4,876 #88
2002 – – 3,315 #116
2001 10 #9,531 3,170 #125
2000 8 #10,956 3,256 #117
1995 5 #13,884 2,630 #134
1990 19 #4,906 2,782 #122
1985 17 #4,496 1,738 #156
1980 14 #5,029 1,196 #204
1975 – – 706 #273
1970 7 #6,469 624 #314
1965 – – 452 #360
1960 7 #5,266 295 #463
1955 – – 256 #462
1950 – – 195 #476
1945 – – 125 #534
1940 – – 58 #822
1935 – – 54 #852
1930 – – 43 #1,056
1925 – – 39 #1,126
1920 – – 42 #1,093
1915 – – 31 #1,163
1910 – – 5 #1,641
1905 – – 5 #1,270
1900 – – – –
1895 – – 5 #1,113
1890 – – 6 #910
1885 – – 6 #853
1880 – – 6 #833

Famous people named Colin

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

  1. 1 Colin Farrell Colin Farrell Irish actor (born 1976) Contemporary
  2. 2 Colin Firth Colin Firth English actor and producer (born 1960) Contemporary
  3. 3 Colin Hanks Colin Hanks American actor (born 1977) Contemporary
  4. 4 Colin Kaepernick Colin Kaepernick American football player (born 1987) Contemporary
  5. 5 Colin Powell Colin Powell American U.S. Army general and diplomat (1937–2021) Contemporary
  6. 6 Colin Morgan Colin Morgan Northern Irish actor (born 1986) Contemporary
  7. 7 Colin Salmon Colin Salmon English actor (born 1961) b. 1962 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Colin McRae Colin McRae British rally driver (1968–2007) Contemporary
  9. 9 Colin Egglesfield Colin Egglesfield American actor b. 1973 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Colin Baker Colin Baker English actor (born 1943) Contemporary
  11. 11 Colin Donnell Colin Donnell American actor and singer (born 1982) Contemporary
  12. 12 Colin O'Donoghue Colin O'Donoghue Irish actor (born 1981) Contemporary
  13. 13 Colin Trevorrow Colin Trevorrow American filmmaker (born 1976) Contemporary
  14. 14 Colin Cunningham Colin Cunningham American television and film actor b. 1966 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Colin Kazim-Richards Colin Kazim-Richards Turkish footballer (born 1986) Contemporary
  16. 16 Colin Chapman Colin Chapman English design engineer (1928–1982) Contemporary
  17. 17 Colin Clive Colin Clive English actor 1900–1937 · Contemporary
  18. 18 Colin Dexter Colin Dexter English writer (1930–2017) Contemporary
  19. 19 Colin Wilson Colin Wilson English writer (1931–2013) Contemporary
  20. 20 Colin Higgins Colin Higgins Australian-American filmmaker (1941–1988) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Colin?

The median living Colin is about 24 years old. Half of all living Colins are between 16 and 35 years old.

How many people named Colin are alive today?

An estimated 128 thousand people named Colin are alive in the United States, based on 134,151 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Colin mean?

A male given name A diminutive of the male given name Nicholas, from Ancient Greek.

How popular is the name Colin in 2025?

Colin ranked #343 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 950 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Colin?

134,151 babies have been named Colin in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Colin most popular?

Colin peaked in 2004, when 5,147 newborns received the name.

Is Colin a boy or girl name?

Colin is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Colin rising or falling?

Colin is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Colin become more popular?

Colin is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 803 boys named Colin in 2030, which would rank around #398. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Colin?

Well-known people named Colin include Colin Farrell (actor), Colin Firth (actor), Colin Hanks (actor).

Names like Colin

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

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