Coltyn
An English masculine name derived from the Anglo-Norman French town name Colton.
Name Census estimates that about 1,567 living Americans carry the first name Coltyn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Coltyn today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Coltyn births was 2012 (128 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Coltyn. 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
- • Coltyn is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 218,733 Americans
Peak year
2012
128 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,903
Tracked since 1989
Popularity
Coltyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Coltyn from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 828 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Coltyn 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 Coltyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Coltyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Texas, Ohio, Michigan recorded the most babies named Coltyn, while Minnesota, Kentucky, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Coltyn
The name Coltyn is a modern English variant of the traditional name Colton, which has its origins in Old English. The name Colton is derived from two elements: "col," meaning coal or coal-black, and "tun," meaning an enclosed area or settlement. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in or near a coal-mining settlement.
While the name Colton has been recorded in various forms since the 11th century, the variant spelling Coltyn is relatively recent and appears to have emerged in the late 20th century. It is likely a creative respelling or modification of the traditional name, perhaps influenced by the growing popularity of unique or unconventional baby names.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Colton can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and their holdings in England compiled in 1086. The entry "Coltone" is listed, referring to a place name that may have been the origin of the surname.
Throughout history, there have been notable individuals who bore the name Colton or its variants. In the 16th century, John Colton (c. 1508-1560) was an English theologian and the Dean of York Cathedral. In the 18th century, Reverend Caleb Colton (1780-1832) was an English writer and clergyman best known for his aphoristic work "Lacon."
In the realm of literature, Walter Colton (1797-1851) was an American author and naval chaplain who wrote the popular book "Ship and Shore" in 1835. More recently, Larry Colton (born 1946) is an American author and journalist known for his non-fiction works, including "Counting Coup" and "Goat Brothers."
Another individual worth mentioning is John Colton (1889-1946), an American playwright and screenwriter who co-wrote the screenplay for the classic film "Beau Geste" in 1939.
While these examples showcase the historical use of the name Colton, the specific variant Coltyn has limited recorded instances prior to modern times. Its emergence as a distinct name likely reflects contemporary trends in creative name spellings and variations.
People
Coltyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Coltyn 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
Coltyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Coltyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,567 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Coltyn 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 218,733 US residents.
Is Coltyn a common name?
We classify Coltyn as "Rare". It ranks above 92.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,583 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Coltyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Coltyn was 2012, when 128 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Coltyn is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Coltyn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Coltyn 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.