Cailen
Form of the Irish Gaelic name Cailean meaning "slender, bright-headed boy".
Name Census estimates that about 434 living Americans carry the first name Cailen. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 55.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Cailen today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cailen births was 2009 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cailen. 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
434
~ 1 in 789,757 Americans
Peak year
2009
29 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2022 SSA rank
#7,847
Tracked since 1982
Gender
Gender distribution for Cailen
Cailen is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 441 total registrations, 244 (55.3%) were male and 197 (44.7%) were female.
Cailen as a male name
- Ranked #7,847 in 2022
- 10 male births in 2022
- Peak: 2007 (17 births)
Cailen as a female name
- Ranked #14,667 in 2016
- 6 female births in 2016
- Peak: 2009 (13 births)
Popularity
Cailen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cailen from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 181 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
Cailen 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 Cailen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cailen
The name Cailen has its origins in the Gaelic languages of Ireland and Scotland, primarily emerging in the medieval period. It is a variant spelling of the name Cailean, which is derived from the Gaelic word "caille" meaning "boy" or "lad". This root word is also believed to be linked to the Old Irish word "caill" meaning "slender" or "graceful".
In Irish mythology, Cailen appears as the name of a minor figure associated with the Tuatha Dé Danann, the ancient Celtic deities. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the 12th-century Irish text, the Book of Leinster, where it is mentioned as the name of a warrior.
The name gained popularity in Scotland during the Middle Ages, particularly among the Gaelic-speaking clans of the Highlands. One notable bearer of the name was Cailen Mor, a 14th-century chief of the Clan Mackenzie, who played a significant role in the clan's history and territorial expansion.
In the 16th century, Cailen Cam, a prominent member of the Clan Maclean, is recorded as having participated in the Battle of Flodden in 1513, where he fought alongside the Scottish forces against the English.
Another historical figure bearing the name was Cailen Og MacDonald (c. 1590-1647), a Scottish Gaelic poet and warrior from the Clan Donald. His poems, which have been preserved, provide insights into the cultural and literary traditions of the time.
In more recent history, Cailen Wilcox (1897-1968) was an American author and journalist known for his work on the Spanish Civil War, while Cailen Murphy (1915-1998) was a Canadian actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout his career.
While the name Cailen is not as common today as it once was, it continues to be used as a first name, particularly in regions with strong Gaelic heritage and cultural connections.
People
Cailen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cailen 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
Cailen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cailen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 434 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cailen 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 789,757 US residents.
Is Cailen a common name?
We classify Cailen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 441 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cailen most popular?
The single biggest year for Cailen was 2009, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cailen is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cailen a male name?
Yes, 55.3% of people registered as Cailen 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.
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.