Colt
Young male horse or foal.
Name Census estimates that about 26,341 living Americans carry the first name Colt. It sits at #276 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Colt today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Colt births was 2019 (1,833 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Colt. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Colt with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Colt is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
26K
~ 1 in 13,012 Americans
Peak year
2019
1,833 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#276
Tracked since 1957
Census
Colt in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 18,204 people with the first name Colt, which placed it at #1,699 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
#1,699
National first-name rank
People counted
18K
18,204 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
6.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Colt
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Colt is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Colt 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 Colt at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 16,051
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 899
- Two or more races4.7% · 858
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 260
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 81
- Black or African American0.3% · 55
Gender
Gender distribution for Colt
Out of the 26,684 babies given the name Colt since 1880, 100.0% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Colt as a male name
- Ranked #276 in 2024
- 1,224 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (1,833 births)
Colt as a female name
- Ranked #10,994 in 1985
- 5 female births in 1985
- Peak: 1983 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Colt appears almost entirely male. Of the 18,214 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Colt: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Colt from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 11,654 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Colt remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Colt 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 Colt during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Colts live
The SSA's state-level files cover 49 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Colt, while Delaware, Vermont, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 502 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Colt
The name Colt has its origins in Old English, derived from the word "colt," which means a young male horse. This name's history can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon England, where it was likely used as a nickname or descriptor before becoming a formal given name.
Colt's association with horses and equestrian culture is evident in its etymology. In medieval times, the name was sometimes used to refer to young, spirited individuals, drawing a parallel between their energetic nature and that of a young horse.
One of the earliest recorded uses of Colt as a given name can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England completed in 1086 AD. This historical document mentions a landowner named Colt, indicating the name's usage during the Norman period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Colt. One of the most famous was Samuel Colt (1814-1862), the American inventor and industrialist who revolutionized firearms with his design of the Colt revolver. His innovations played a significant role in the expansion of the American West.
Another prominent figure was Colt Kipling (1892-1919), a Canadian fighter pilot and Victoria Cross recipient during World War I. He was recognized for his exceptional bravery and skill in aerial combat against German forces.
In the realm of sports, Colt McCoy (born 1986) is a former NFL quarterback who played for several teams, including the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Redskins (now known as the Commanders).
Literature also features individuals with the name Colt, such as Colt Seavers, a fictional character from the popular Western novel series "The Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry.
Colt Cabana (born 1980) is a notable professional wrestler and podcaster, known for his work in independent wrestling promotions and his long-running podcast, "The Art of Wrestling."
While the name Colt has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, its equestrian origins and connections to notable figures across various fields have contributed to its enduring presence and unique character.
People
Colt + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Colt 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
Colt: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Colt?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 26,341 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Colt 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 13,012 US residents.
Is Colt a common name?
We classify Colt as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 26,684 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Colt most popular?
The single biggest year for Colt was 2019, when 1,833 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Colt is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Colt in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 18,204 people with the name Colt, or 6.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,699 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 Colt 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 Colt?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Colt appears almost entirely male. Of the 18,214 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Colt?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Colt is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Colt most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Colt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (16,051 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 Colt in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Colt a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Colt 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 Colt still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Colt 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 Colt 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 are called Colt?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.