🔥Colin

English diminutive of Nicholas or Irish and Scottish

"people of victory; pup"

Colin Origin and Meaning

The name Colin is a boy's name of Scottish, Greek, Irish origin meaning "people of victory; pup".

Thanks to its dashing Anglo-Irish image — due partly to Colins Firth and Farrell — and its C-initialed two-syllable sound, Colin and its cousin Collin have enjoyed a long run of popularity, reaching as high as Number 84 in 2004.

The usual pronunciation of Colin is COLL-in, but the alternate COLE-in version was publicized by General Colin Powell, the first U.S. African-American Secretary of State, who was named after World War II hero Colin Kelly.

Literary cred: Colin Craven is a character in The Secret Garden, and Colin Creevey appears in the Harry Potter books.

Both Kevin James and Kiss's Paul Stanley have young sons named Colin, while Tom Hanks has a grown one.

Colin Rank in US Top 1000

# 334 in the US

Colin Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 203 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Colin

• 334 US 2023
• 203 Nameberry 2025
• 893 England 2021
• 98 Germany 2016
• 104 Netherlands 2015
• 63 Sweden 2024
• 104 Switzerland 2023

20 Names Similar to Colin

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

• Evan
• Ian
• Joel
• Gavin
• Seth
• Garrett
• Josiah
• Conor
• Nate
• Isaiah
• Jesse
• Dean
• Connor
• Jonas
• Maxwell
• Collin
• Spencer
• Nowel
• Jamie
• Jörn

Famous People Named Colin

• Colin Luther Powell American general and 65th Secretary of State
• Colin Ford American actor
• Colin Lewes Hanks American actor; son of Tom Hanks
• Colin Andrew Firth English actor
• Colin Egglesfield American actor
• Colin James Farrell Irish actor
• Colin Morgan Irish Actor
• Colin Campbell Cooper American painter
• Colin Alexander Cunningham American actor
• Colin Edward Quinn American comedian
• Colin Rand Kaepernick American NFL football player
• Colin O'Donoghue Irish Actor
• Colin Thomas Hannah Australian Air Force commander; 19th Governor of Queensland
• Colin Ward English anarchist writer
• Colin Todd English footballer and manager
• Colin Kelly Jost American actor and comedian
• Colin John Bond Australian racing driver
• Colin Cowherd American radio sportscaster
• Colin Patrick Henry Meloy American lead singer of band The Decemberist
• Colin Donnell American actor
• Colin Michael Stanley (b. 2006) son of American musician Paul Stanley

The name Colin in Pop Culture

• Colin Craven character in F.H. Burnett's "The Secret Garden"
• Colin Creevey character in the Harry Potter series
• Colin Fisher intern on TV's "Bones"
• Colin Hart character on TV's "Everwood"
• Colin Hargreaves character in the Lady Emily Ashton series
• Colin character in "George Dandin ou le Mari confondu" by Moliere
• Colin McCrae character on TV show "Gilmore Girls"
• Colin Singleton in "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green
• Colin Thatcher a main character in Mary Kubica's novel, "The Good Girl"
• Colin Bridgerton in "Bridgerton" a hit TV show on Netflix

International Variations of the name Colin

• Cóilean Irish Gaelic
• Coilin Irish
• Cailean Scottish Gaelic