Calleen
Feminine diminutive form of Calla, derived from Greek meaning "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 206 living Americans carry the first name Calleen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Calleen today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Calleen births was 1960 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Calleen. 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
206
~ 1 in 1,663,856 Americans
Peak year
1960
15 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
1992 SSA rank
#8,838
Tracked since 1929
Census
Calleen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 281 people with the first name Calleen, which placed it at #30,797 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
#30,797
National first-name rank
People counted
281
281 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Calleen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Calleen is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Calleen 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 Calleen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.1% · 239
- Black or African American6.8% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 12
- Two or more races2.8% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Calleen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Calleen from the 1920s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 79 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Calleen 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 Calleen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Calleens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Calleen
The name Calleen originates from the Irish Gaelic language and culture, tracing its roots back to the medieval period in Ireland. It is a feminine form of the male name Cailean, which itself is derived from the Old Irish name Caillin, meaning "bright-headed" or "bright-haired."
In ancient Irish folklore and mythology, the name Calleen was often associated with characters known for their radiant beauty, fair complexion, and golden locks. This connection to physical attributes, particularly related to hair color, has been a defining characteristic of the name throughout its history.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Calleen can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The text references a woman named Calleen Ni Mhaille, who lived in the 16th century and was renowned for her bravery and leadership as a seafaring chieftain on the western coast of Ireland.
Another notable figure bearing the name Calleen was Calleen Bairn, a Scottish noblewoman from the 13th century. She was known for her involvement in the Wars of Scottish Independence and her support for Robert the Bruce, the famous Scottish king who fought for Scotland's freedom from English rule.
In the realm of literature, the name Calleen appears in several works of Irish poetry and ballads. One of the most famous examples is the 18th-century poem "The Lass of Aughrim" by William Drennan, which immortalized a young woman named Calleen O'Brien, whose tragic love story became a symbol of Irish patriotism and resistance against English oppression.
During the 19th century, the name Calleen gained popularity among Irish immigrants in the United States and other English-speaking countries. One notable bearer of the name was Calleen Fitzpatrick (1805-1888), an Irish-American philanthropist and educator who founded several schools and orphanages in New York City, dedicated to providing education and support for underprivileged children.
Another influential figure with the name Calleen was Calleen O'Malley (1875-1942), an Irish-American political activist and suffragette. She played a prominent role in the women's suffrage movement in the United States and was a vocal advocate for women's rights and social justice.
While the name Calleen has seen a decline in popularity in recent decades, it remains a cherished part of Irish cultural heritage, reflecting the rich tapestry of history, mythology, and tradition that have shaped its meaning and significance over the centuries.
People
Calleen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Calleen 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
Calleen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Calleen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 206 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Calleen 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 1,663,856 US residents.
Is Calleen a common name?
We classify Calleen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 267 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Calleen most popular?
The single biggest year for Calleen was 1960, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Calleen is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Calleen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 281 people with the name Calleen, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,797 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 Calleen 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 Calleen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Calleen leans strongly female. 281 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Calleen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Calleen is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Calleen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Calleen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.1% (239 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 Calleen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Calleen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Calleen in the SSA data are female. 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 Calleen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Calleen 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 Calleen 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 people are called Calleen?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.