Caelan

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.

Caelan is also given to girls, where it ranks #13508 in the US.

Pronounced KAY-lun.

As of October 2026, Caelan ranked #2892 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1068 in 2001, Nameberry popularity #849.