Coltrane
Anglicized variant of an English surname, possibly derived from places named for coal burners.
Name Census estimates that about 335 living Americans carry the first name Coltrane. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Coltrane today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Coltrane births was 2009 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Coltrane. 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
335
~ 1 in 1,023,147 Americans
Peak year
2009
20 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,652
Tracked since 1997
Popularity
Coltrane: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Coltrane from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 142 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Coltrane 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 Coltrane during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Coltranes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Coltrane
The given name Coltrane is an English surname that has been adopted as a first name in more recent times. It is derived from the Old English words "colt" and "tren," meaning "colt" and "tree," respectively. The name likely originated as a descriptive surname for someone who lived near a particular tree or grove where colts or young horses were raised.
The earliest recorded use of the surname Coltrane dates back to the 13th century in England. Some historical records suggest that the name may have originated in the county of Northumberland, where there were several places with names like Coltraneside or Coltraneland.
While the name Coltrane does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it gained prominence in the 20th century due to the renowned American jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane (1926-1967). His innovative and influential style helped establish him as one of the most important figures in the history of jazz.
Another notable individual with the first name Coltrane was Coltrane Turbo Somervell (1915-1994), a British mountaineer and explorer who was part of the successful expedition to Mount Everest in 1953. He was named after the famous jazz musician.
In literature, Coltrane is the name of a character in the novel "The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen, published in 2001. The character is named after the jazz musician as well.
Other individuals with the first name Coltrane include Coltrane Ralph Wyndham (born 1965), an English actor and writer, and Coltrane Roberts (born 1991), an American professional basketball player.
While the name Coltrane is not as common as some other first names, its association with the legendary jazz musician has contributed to its increased usage and recognition in recent decades.
People
Coltrane + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Coltrane 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
Coltrane: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Coltrane?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 335 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Coltrane 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 1,023,147 US residents.
Is Coltrane a common name?
We classify Coltrane as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 339 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Coltrane most popular?
The single biggest year for Coltrane was 2009, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Coltrane is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Coltrane a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Coltrane 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.
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.