Colleen

Colleen: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “girl”
Origin: Irish
Say it: koh-LEEN · 2 syllables
Used for: Girls

From Irish cailín meaning 'girl' or 'young woman.' It entered English-speaking use as an Anglicized borrowing from Irish.

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How popular is Colleen?

202418.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Colleen in 202460

2024 rank#2,795 girls

Peak year1964

Total US babies since 1880163,029

Colleen is fading: recent use is about 48% of its level ten years before.

Names like Colleen

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Maeveshe who intoxicates · Irish
Kennedyhelmeted head · Irish
Sloaneraider · Irish
Delaneydescendant of the challenger · Irish
Reaganlittle king · Irish
Alannachild; or dear one · Irish
Teaganlittle poet · Irish
Mckennason of Cionaodh · Irish

Colleen questions

What does the name Colleen mean?

Colleen means "girl". It comes from Irish. From Irish cailín meaning 'girl' or 'young woman.' It entered English-speaking use as an Anglicized borrowing from Irish.

Is Colleen a boy or girl name?

Colleen is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Colleen?

60 US babies were named Colleen in 2024. Its peak year was 1964.

How do you pronounce Colleen?

Colleen is usually pronounced koh-LEEN.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.