Caelan

The name Caelan is currently ranked #13508 in U.S. births. and peaked for girls at #2264 in 2003. Caelan is occasionally used for boys in 2025.

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

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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.

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The name Caelan is currently ranked #2892 in U.S. births. and peaked for boys at #1068 in 2001. The name is most popular in Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. Caelan is occasionally used for girls in 2025.

Cailean

Year	US rank	Births	Per million
2014	—	0	0
2015	—	0	0
2016	—	0	0
2017	—	0	0
2018	—	0	0
2019	—	0	0
2020	—	0	0
2021	—	0	0
2022	—	0	0
2023	—	0	0
2024	—	0	0
2025	—	0	0

Caelan

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