Coulten
A variation of the Old English surname Colton, meaning "from the cot settlement".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Coulten. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Coulten today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Coulten births was 2000 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Coulten. 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 Coulten. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2000
5 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2000 SSA rank
#10,676
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Coulten: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Coulten 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 Coulten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Coulten
The given name Coulten has its origins in the English language, emerging in the late 16th century. It is derived from the Old English words "col" meaning coal or charcoal, and "tun" meaning a town or settlement. The name's literal meaning is "the one from the coal town."
Coulten was a relatively uncommon name in its early days, primarily found in rural areas of England where coal mining was a prominent industry. The earliest recorded instance of the name dates back to 1597, when a Coulten Smythe was mentioned in a parish record from Yorkshire.
In the 17th century, the name gained some prominence with the rise of the Coulten family, a wealthy coal merchant clan based in Northumberland. One notable member was Sir Coulten Coulten (1620-1687), a successful entrepreneur who invested heavily in the mining and transportation of coal.
The 18th century saw the name spread beyond its English roots, with a few bearers emerging in the American colonies. One such individual was Coulten Browne (1738-1812), a soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War and later became a prominent landowner in Virginia.
As industrialization took hold in the 19th century, the name Coulten experienced a modest resurgence, particularly in areas with thriving coal industries. A notable figure from this period was Coulten Peabody (1815-1891), an American industrialist who made his fortune in the coal and steel business.
Moving into the 20th century, the name remained relatively uncommon, but a few notable individuals bore it. One was Coulten Hutchinson (1901-1976), a British explorer and writer who chronicled his adventures in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
Another was Coulten Wilbur (1919-2003), an American author and journalist who wrote extensively about the civil rights movement and won numerous awards for his work.
In more recent times, the name has maintained its rarity, but a few individuals have carried it forward. One is Coulten Moore (born 1966), a Canadian actor and director known for his work in television and film.
People
Coulten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Coulten 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
Coulten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Coulten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Coulten 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Coulten a common name?
We classify Coulten as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Coulten most popular?
The single biggest year for Coulten was 2000, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Coulten is about 26 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 Coulten in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Coulten a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Coulten 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 Coulten still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Coulten 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 Coulten 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 the name Coulten?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.