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Caelan

KAY-lan
Irish
"little slender one"
Linda Rosenkrantz
By Linda Rosenkrantz
Updated Mon Sep 08 2025

Caelan Origin and Meaning

The name Caelan is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "little slender one".

One of several Anglicized forms of Caolán, this spelling is borrowed from the Old Irish root, cáel.

With its stylish -an ending and its cool 'KAY' sound, Caelan entered the Top 500 in England and Wales in 2022, while in Ireland, it was one of the fastest rising names last year, entering not just the Top 100 for the first time, but leaping straight to the Top 50.

Its popularity in the US may be compromised by its similarity in pronunciation to the trendy girls' name Kailyn in its wide variety of spellings. Caelan's Anglicized relative Colin is still much more popular on this side of the pond.

As a name, it derives from the Irish element cáel meaning "slender", combined with a diminuitive suffix, giving it the over all meaning "little slender one".

Caelan appears in Derek Landy's book series Skulduggery Pleasant and is notably borne by Irish rugby player, Caelan Doris, selected in 2023 as the Players' Player of the Year at the Rugby Players Ireland awards. This may have encouraged more parents to use the name.

# 1005 on Nameberry

Caelan Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Caelan

20 Names Similar to Caelan

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Caelan.

Famous People Named Caelan

  • Caelan Michael Biehn
    son of American actor Michael Biehn

The name Caelan in Pop Culture

  • Caelan
    Vampire character from the Skulduggery Pleasant series