Coledon
Of disputed origin, possibly a variant of the English surname Collington.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Coledon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Coledon today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Coledon births was 2001 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Coledon. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Coledon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2001
5 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2001 SSA rank
#10,883
Tracked since 2001
Popularity
Coledon: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Coledon 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 Coledon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Coledon
The name Coledon is an ancient one with roots stretching back to the early medieval period in the British Isles. It is believed to have originated from the Old English words "col" meaning coal or charcoal, and "dun" meaning hill or mound. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person living near a coal deposit or a charcoal-burning area.
The earliest recorded use of the name Coledon dates back to the 9th century, when it appeared in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record of the Anglo-Saxon kings of England. One notable bearer of the name from this era was Coledon the Wise, a renowned scholar and advisor to King Alfred the Great (849-899).
During the Middle Ages, the name Coledon gained popularity among the nobility and landed gentry of England and Scotland. In the 12th century, a knight named Coledon de Braose fought valiantly in the Third Crusade, earning recognition for his bravery on the battlefield.
In the 15th century, a wealthy merchant from York named Coledon Greystoke became a prominent figure in the city's guild system, and his descendants went on to establish a successful trading empire across Europe. Another notable figure was Sir Coledon Fitzwilliam (1460-1528), a courtier and diplomat who served under King Henry VIII.
As the name spread across Europe, it took on various spellings and forms, such as Collidoun in Scotland and Kolodion in parts of Eastern Europe. In the 17th century, a German scholar named Coledon von Falkenstein (1612-1679) made significant contributions to the field of astronomy, publishing several treatises on celestial bodies.
In the 19th century, Coledon Wainwright (1794-1867) was a prominent English artist and landscape painter, known for his depictions of rural scenes and natural landscapes. Additionally, Coledon Harrington (1820-1892) was a pioneering American inventor who patented several innovations in agricultural machinery.
Throughout its history, the name Coledon has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, warriors, merchants, artists, and inventors. While not as common today as it once was, the name's rich heritage and intriguing origins continue to captivate those interested in the study of onomastics and naming traditions.
People
Coledon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Coledon 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
Coledon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Coledon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Coledon 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Coledon a common name?
We classify Coledon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Coledon most popular?
The single biggest year for Coledon was 2001, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Coledon is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Coledon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Coledon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Coledon 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 Coledon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Coledon 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 Coledon 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Coledon?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.