Colan
An English masculine name derived from the Gaelic surname meaning "the descendant of the whelp".
Name Census estimates that about 184 living Americans carry the first name Colan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Colan today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Colan births was 1994 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Colan. 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
184
~ 1 in 1,862,795 Americans
Peak year
1994
11 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2003 SSA rank
#11,202
Tracked since 1915
Census
Colan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 288 people with the first name Colan, which placed it at #30,313 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
#30,313
National first-name rank
People counted
288
288 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Colan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Colan is White at 74.0%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Colan 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 Colan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.0% · 213
- Black or African American10.1% · 29
- Two or more races5.2% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.8% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 7
Popularity
Colan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Colan from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 74 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Colan 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 Colan 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 Colan
The name Colan is believed to have originated from the Gaelic language, with roots tracing back to ancient Celtic cultures. It is derived from the Old Irish word "colún," which means "cub" or "young wolf." This name was likely given to children in reference to their perceived youthful spirit and energy, akin to a lively wolf pup.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Colan can be found in the Annals of Inisfallen, an Irish chronicle dating back to the 12th century. The name appears in entries related to notable figures and events from the medieval period in Ireland.
In the 6th century, Saint Colan, a renowned Irish monk and missionary, played a significant role in spreading Christianity throughout the British Isles. He is revered for his dedication to evangelism and his efforts in establishing monasteries in various regions.
During the 9th century, Colan mac Conaill was a prominent Irish king who ruled over the kingdom of Mide (modern-day County Westmeath) from 819 to 834 AD. Historical accounts describe him as a skilled warrior and a respected leader among his people.
Another notable figure bearing this name was Colan of Cloyne, a 7th-century Irish bishop and scholar. He is recognized for his contributions to the development of monastic schools and the preservation of ancient Irish literature and religious texts.
In the 12th century, Colan O'Mulchallan was a renowned Irish poet and chief bard to the O'Donnell clan of Donegal. His poetic works, which celebrated the exploits of his patrons, were highly regarded and have been preserved through oral tradition and written records.
While the name Colan has its roots in Irish and Celtic cultures, it has also been adopted and used in various other regions and contexts throughout history. However, the specific details and references may vary depending on the cultural and historical context in which the name was used.
People
Colan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Colan 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
Colan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Colan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 184 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Colan 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 1,862,795 US residents.
Is Colan a common name?
We classify Colan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 237 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Colan most popular?
The single biggest year for Colan was 1994, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Colan is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Colan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 288 people with the name Colan, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,313 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 Colan 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 Colan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Colan appears almost entirely male. Of the 285 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Colan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Colan is White at 74.0%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Colan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Colan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.0% (213 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 Colan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Colan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Colan 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 Colan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Colan 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 Colan 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 Colan?
See how many people share the name Colan on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.