Coletyn
A variant spelling of the Welsh name Colin, meaning "young man".
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Coletyn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Coletyn today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Coletyn births was 2011 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Coletyn. 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 Coletyn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2011
7 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2011 SSA rank
#9,817
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Coletyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Coletyn from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 7 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Coletyn 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 Coletyn 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 Coletyn
The given name Coletyn is believed to have originated from the Brythonic Celtic language spoken in ancient Britain. Linguists have traced its roots to the Old Welsh word "coleten," which means "little cabbage." This unusual name likely emerged during the early medieval period, between the 5th and 11th centuries AD, when the Welsh language was still widely used across parts of Britain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Coletyn can be found in the 12th-century Welsh chronicle, "Brut y Tywysogion" (Chronicle of the Princes). Here, a nobleman named Coletyn ap Gwrgan is mentioned as having fought alongside the Prince of Powys in a battle against the English in 1165 AD.
Another notable figure bearing this name was Coletyn Fychan, a 14th-century Welsh poet and bard. He was renowned for his intricate cywyddau (a traditional Welsh poetic form) and is believed to have composed several works praising the nobility of his time.
In the 16th century, a Coletyn ap Rhys is recorded as having been a respected landowner and scholar in the region of Carmarthenshire, Wales. His extensive library and patronage of the arts were well-known during his lifetime.
Moving into the 17th century, we find Coletyn Ddu, a Welsh soldier who fought alongside Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War (1642-1651). He is said to have distinguished himself in several battles and was rewarded with land grants in the aftermath of the conflict.
The last significant historical figure bearing the name Coletyn was a 19th-century Welsh clergyman named Coletyn Jones (1810-1892). He served as the vicar of Llanfair-ar-y-bryn, a small village in Carmarthenshire, and was known for his charitable works and support of education in the local community.
While the name Coletyn was never particularly common, even in its homeland of Wales, these examples demonstrate its enduring presence throughout the centuries. Its unique linguistic origins and connection to the rich cultural heritage of the Welsh people have ensured that this unusual name has not been entirely forgotten.
People
Coletyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Coletyn 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
Coletyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Coletyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Coletyn 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Coletyn a common name?
We classify Coletyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Coletyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Coletyn was 2011, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Coletyn is about 16 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 Coletyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Coletyn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Coletyn 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 Coletyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Coletyn 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 Coletyn 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 many people have Coletyn as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.