Colie
An English feminine name derived from Nicholas, meaning "victory people".
Name Census estimates that about 266 living Americans carry the first name Colie. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 84.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Colie today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Colie births was 2007 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Colie. 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
266
~ 1 in 1,288,550 Americans
Peak year
2007
38 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2020 SSA rank
#12,403
Tracked since 1911
Census
Colie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 366 people with the first name Colie, which placed it at #25,756 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
#25,756
National first-name rank
People counted
366
366 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Colie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Colie is White at 70.5%. The next largest groups are Black (20.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Colie 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 Colie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.5% · 258
- Black or African American20.8% · 76
- Two or more races4.1% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Colie
Colie leans heavily male at 84.9% of total registrations, but 101 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Colie as a male name
- Ranked #12,403 in 2020
- 5 male births in 2020
- Peak: 1912 (23 births)
Colie as a female name
- Ranked #15,035 in 2013
- 6 female births in 2013
- Peak: 2007 (38 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Colie on both sides of the split. Of the 362 people counted with this name, 216 were male (59.7%) and 146 were female (40.3%).
Popularity
Colie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Colie from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 171 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Colie 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 Colie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Colies live
Origin
Meaning and history of Colie
The name Colie is believed to have originated from the Gaelic language, which was primarily spoken in Scotland, Ireland, and parts of England during the medieval period. It is thought to be a diminutive or pet form of the name Colin, derived from the Gaelic word "cailín," which means "young boy" or "lad."
The earliest recorded use of the name Colie can be traced back to Scotland in the 16th century. It was a popular name among the Scottish Highlanders and was often given to young boys as a nickname or shortened version of Colin. The name was also used in Ireland, where it was likely influenced by the similar-sounding Irish name Cailín.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Colie was Colie Macbeth, a Scottish soldier who fought in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Another notable figure was Colie Campbell, a Scottish Presbyterian minister who lived in the 17th century and was known for his fiery sermons and unwavering commitment to the Calvinist faith.
In the 19th century, the name Colie gained popularity in the United States, particularly among families with Scottish or Irish ancestry. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Colie Mustill, an American baseball player who played for the Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals in the early 20th century (1888-1958).
Another notable figure was Colie Wolfe, an American actor and playwright who was active in the 1920s and 1930s. He is best known for his role in the Broadway production of "The Green Pastures" and for his work in promoting African American theatre.
In the literary world, Colie Fitzpiers was a character in Thomas Hardy's novel "The Woodlanders," published in 1887. The character's name was likely inspired by the Scottish and Irish origins of the name Colie.
While the name Colie has not been as widely used in recent times as it once was, it still holds significance as a traditional Scottish and Irish name with a rich cultural heritage.
People
Colie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Colie 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
Colie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Colie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 266 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Colie 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 1,288,550 US residents.
Is Colie a common name?
We classify Colie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 668 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Colie most popular?
The single biggest year for Colie was 2007, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Colie is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Colie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 366 people with the name Colie, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,756 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 Colie 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 Colie?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Colie on both sides of the split. Of the 362 people counted with this name, 216 were male (59.7%) and 146 were female (40.3%). 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 Colie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Colie is White at 70.5%. The next largest groups are Black (20.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Colie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Colie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.5% (258 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 Colie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Colie a male name?
Yes, 84.9% of people registered as Colie 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 Colie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Colie 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 Colie 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 Colie as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.