Colin

“Young dog or pup; or a diminutive of Nicholas” — Irish/Scottish Gaelic, or Old French origin

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

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. 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.

Around the world: #63 in Sweden (2025).

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

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 (1958-2007)

In stories & tradition

Colin Creevey — Harry Potter · Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Colin Mallory — Sliders
Colin Wells — fictional human

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).

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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