Caulin
A Celtic masculine name meaning "little songbird" or "brave warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 171 living Americans carry the first name Caulin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Caulin today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caulin births was 2002 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caulin. 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
171
~ 1 in 2,004,411 Americans
Peak year
2002
23 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2013 SSA rank
#12,461
Tracked since 1992
Census
Caulin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 177 people with the first name Caulin, which placed it at #41,393 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
#41,393
National first-name rank
People counted
177
177 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caulin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caulin is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Hispanic (7.3%). 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 Caulin 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 Caulin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.3% · 135
- Black or African American9.0% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 13
- Two or more races6.2% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 2
Popularity
Caulin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caulin from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 87 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
Caulin 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 Caulin 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 Caulin
The name Caulin has its roots in the Gaelic language, originating from the northern regions of Scotland and Ireland. It dates back to the Middle Ages, around the 9th to 11th centuries. The name is believed to be derived from the Old Gaelic word "caolán," which means "slender" or "lean."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Caulin can be found in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient chronicle of medieval Irish history. In this text, a figure named Caulin Mac Cuilennáin is mentioned as a prominent chieftain who lived in the 9th century.
Another notable historical figure bearing the name Caulin was Caulin Bán, a Scottish warrior and poet from the 15th century. His works, which celebrated the bravery and valor of Highland clans, were widely renowned in his time.
In the 16th century, a Caulin O'Donnell was recorded as a distinguished scholar and translator of ancient Irish manuscripts. His translations played a crucial role in preserving the rich literary heritage of the Gaelic culture.
During the 17th century, Caulin MacLeod was a respected chieftain of the MacLeod clan on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. He was known for his leadership and involvement in the ongoing clan conflicts of that era.
Another notable figure was Caulin O'Malley, born in 1732, who was a prominent Irish patriot and soldier. He fought alongside the French forces during the American Revolutionary War, and his bravery and skills on the battlefield were widely celebrated.
While the name Caulin has its roots in the ancient Gaelic cultures, it has been used across various regions and time periods, although it remains relatively uncommon in modern times. The name carries a sense of slenderness, grace, and a connection to the rich historical and cultural heritage of the Celtic nations.
People
Caulin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caulin 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
Caulin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caulin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 171 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caulin 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 2,004,411 US residents.
Is Caulin a common name?
We classify Caulin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 174 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caulin most popular?
The single biggest year for Caulin was 2002, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caulin is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Caulin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 177 people with the name Caulin, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,393 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 Caulin 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 Caulin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caulin leans strongly male. 182 people counted with this name were male (97.3%), compared with 5 female bearers (2.7%). 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 Caulin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caulin is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Hispanic (7.3%). 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 Caulin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Caulin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.3% (135 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 Caulin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caulin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Caulin 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 Caulin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caulin 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 Caulin 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 have the name Caulin?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.