Collyn
A Scottish name of unknown meaning, possibly derived from a Gaelic surname.
Name Census estimates that about 1,061 living Americans carry the first name Collyn. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Collyn today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Collyn births was 2009 (52 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Collyn. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 323,048 Americans
Peak year
2009
52 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,071
Tracked since 1975
Census
Collyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,012 people with the first name Collyn, which placed it at #12,335 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#12,335
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,012 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Collyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Collyn is White at 78.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Collyn described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Collyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.9% · 798
- Black or African American9.8% · 99
- Two or more races5.7% · 58
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 12
Gender
Gender distribution for Collyn
Collyn is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,079 total registrations, 818 (75.8%) were male and 261 (24.2%) were female.
Collyn as a male name
- Ranked #9,071 in 2023
- 8 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2009 (52 births)
Collyn as a female name
- Ranked #10,428 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2013 (14 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Collyn on both sides of the split. Of the 1,016 people counted with this name, 718 were male (70.7%) and 298 were female (29.3%).
Popularity
Collyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Collyn from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 348 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Collyn by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Collyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Collyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, Indiana, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Collyn, while Pennsylvania, Indiana, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Collyn
The name Collyn is of Celtic origin, with roots tracing back to medieval Britain and Ireland. It is a variant spelling of the name Colin, which itself is derived from the Old Gaelic word "colún," meaning "puppy" or "young dog." The name gained popularity in the British Isles during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Collyn can be found in the Welsh chronicles of the 12th century, where it was mentioned as the name of a minor nobleman. The name also appeared in several Irish literary works from the same period, further cementing its Celtic heritage.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Collyn. One of the earliest was Collyn ap Rhys (c. 1215-1282), a Welsh prince and military leader who played a significant role in the conflicts between the Welsh and the English during the 13th century.
Another prominent figure was Collyn FitzGerald (c. 1480-1536), an Irish nobleman and Lord Deputy of Ireland during the Tudor period. He was known for his loyalty to the English crown and his efforts to establish English rule in Ireland.
In the 17th century, Collyn Bevan (1628-1701) was a notable Quaker preacher and writer in England. He authored several religious works and was an influential figure in the early Quaker movement.
During the 18th century, Collyn Gwynne (1712-1770) was a Welsh antiquarian and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of Welsh history and literature. He is best known for his work "An Essay on the History and Antiquities of Shropshire."
In the realm of literature, Collyn Rhynn (1853-1919) was a Welsh poet and author who wrote extensively in both Welsh and English. His works celebrated the beauty of the Welsh landscape and the rich cultural heritage of his homeland.
While the name Collyn has its roots in the Celtic regions of the British Isles, it has since gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in North America and Australia, where it is often used as a variant of the more common name Colin.
People
Collyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Collyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Collyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Collyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,061 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Collyn going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 323,048 US residents.
Is Collyn a common name?
We classify Collyn as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,079 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Collyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Collyn was 2009, when 52 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Collyn is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Collyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,012 people with the name Collyn, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,335 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Collyn in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Collyn?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Collyn on both sides of the split. Of the 1,016 people counted with this name, 718 were male (70.7%) and 298 were female (29.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Collyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Collyn is White at 78.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Collyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Collyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.9% (798 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Collyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Collyn a male name?
Yes, 75.8% of people registered as Collyn in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Collyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Collyn in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Collyn can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Collyn?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Collyn at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.