Colin

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Collin in PL Poland, PH Philippines, MY Malaysia and קולין in IL Israel.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 10 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Colin is also recorded as 8 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name341K records spelled Colin10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Mexico, United States, United Kingdom, Spain

  Also written Colín, Colìn, Cölïn, Colïn, Cólin

• French given name209K records spelled Colin3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United Kingdom, United States, Canada

  Also written Colín

• Portuguese given name17K records spelled Colin3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United Kingdom, United States, Brazil, South Africa

  Also written Colín, Čôlīn

• a separate given name16K records spelled Colin2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India

  Also written Colín

• Russian given name14K records spelled Colin60 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Poland, United Kingdom, United States

  Languages: Russian, Polish, Czech

  Also written Колин, Kolin, Колін, Coleen, Collin

• Indonesian given name4.1K records spelled Colin3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Indonesia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Colín

• Italian given name3.6K records spelled Colin2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa

  Also written Colín

• English given name2.5K records spelled Colin70 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Philippines, Australia

  Languages: English, Thai, German

  Also written Coleen, คอลิน, โคลิน, Colín, Coline

65 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Colin is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, 'Pup' or 'cub'; Irish variant Coilin, later latinised as Caniculus and Catulus.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In French, French diminutive of Nicolas, from Greek Nikolaos 'victory of the people'.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, French diminutive of Nicolas; Greek nikē « victory » + laos « people ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, French diminutive of Nicolas; 'victory of the people'.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• Diminutive form of the medieval name Col(le), a short form of pNicholas. In Scotland it has been used as an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Cailean, particularly favoured among the Campbells and the MacKenzies. Cailean relates to St Columba (see Calum) as Crisdean does to Christ and Moirean to Mary.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 135 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Richard Dawsonb. 1932GBnot in their usual nameBritish actor (1932–2012)
• Colin Powellb. 1937USAmerican general and diplomat (1937–2021)
• Colin Firthb. 1960GBEnglish actor and producer
• Colin Salmonb. 1962GBBritish actor (b. 1962)
• Colin Jacksonb. 1967GBWelsh athlete and sports commentator
• Colin McRaeb. 1968GBBritish racing driver (1958-2007)
• Colin Farrellb. 1976IEIrish actor (born 1976)
• Colin Hanksb. 1977USAmerican actor (born 1977)
• Jermain Defoeb. 1982GBnot in their usual nameEnglish association football player (born 1982)
• Colin Kazim-Richardsb. 1986GBTurkish-British footballer and manager (born 1986)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,199 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Colin?

We estimate roughly 173 thousand people bear Colin (counting its spellings and scripts) across 14 countries in our records.

In which country does Colin have the most bearers?

Colin is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled colin.

Where is Colin most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Colin is densest in Guyana — about 1 in 579 people — even though United Kingdom holds more of our records for it.

How common is Colin compared with other names?

In the United Kingdom, Colin is the 100th most common given name of 369,273 given names recorded there.

Is Colin a male or female name?

Colin is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.

What does the name Colin mean?

Recorded meaning: from the personal name Colin, ‘little Coll’, a reduced form of Nicholas; also from French Colin, a pet form of Nicolas.