2000
#5,697
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,583
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.07
Rare Last name
Colin
A diminutive form of Nicholas, derived from the Greek name Nikolaos, meaning "victory of the people."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,735 Americans carry the last name Colin. That puts it at #4,529 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,239 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Colin surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Colin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.7K
1 in 39,239
Census rank
#4,529
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,617 bearers of the surname Colin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4529th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Colin, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 70.8%. The next largest groups are White (17.2%) and Black (10.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Colin
The surname Colin has its origins in Scotland and northern England. It is derived from the Old French personal name "Colin," which is a diminutive form of the name "Col" or "Col," meaning "neck" or "dove." The name was likely brought to Britain by Norman settlers during the 11th and 12th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Colin can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Colinus." The name was particularly prevalent in the Scottish Lowlands and the northern counties of England, such as Northumberland and Cumberland.
In the 13th century, the surname Colin appeared in various medieval records, including the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which documented Scottish landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. One notable example from this period is William Colin, a Scottish landowner from Berwickshire, who was recorded in the Ragman Rolls.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Colin became more widespread across Scotland and northern England. Notable individuals with the surname during this period include Sir John Colin (1563-1618), a Scottish politician and landowner, and Robert Colin (1592-1662), a Scottish minister and theologian.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, several prominent figures bore the surname Colin. These include Sir William Colin (1720-1790), a Scottish merchant and landowner, and John Colin, 3rd Earl of Portmore (1700-1785), a British army officer who served in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War.
The surname Colin has also been associated with various place names in Scotland and northern England, such as Colin Glen in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Colintraive in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. These place names may have derived from individuals bearing the surname Colin who once lived or owned land in these areas.
Throughout its history, the surname Colin has undergone various spellings, including Collin, Colyne, and Colyn, reflecting the regional variations and linguistic influences in different parts of Scotland and northern England. Despite these variations, the surname has maintained its distinctive Scottish and northern English origins and has been carried by notable individuals across various fields, including politics, religion, and military service.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Colin
Among Census respondents with the surname Colin, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 70.8%. The next largest groups are White (17.2%) and Black (10.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Colin bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Colin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino70.8% · 5,395
- White17.2% · 1,307
- Black or African American10.0% · 761
- Two or more races1.2% · 92
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Colin
Colin appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,318
+2,735 bearers (+49.0%)
Per 100,000 2.82
Rank movement Up 1,427 places
2020
#4,529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,617
-701 bearers (-8.4%)
Per 100,000 2.55
Rank movement Down 259 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,697 | 5,583 | 2.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,270 | 8,318 | 2.82 | +2,735 bearers (+49.0%) | Up 1,427 places |
| 2020 | #4,529 | 7,617 | 2.55 | -701 bearers (-8.4%) | Down 259 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Colin surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,270 | #4,529 | -6.1% |
| Count | 8,318 | 7,617 | -8.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.82 | 2.55 | -9.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Colin bearers went from 8,318 to 7,617 (-8.4% change). The surname moved down 259 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,270 to #4,529.
FAQ
Colin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Colin?
Name Census estimates that about 8,735 living Americans carry the surname Colin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,239 residents.
How common is Colin?
Colin ranks #4,529 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.55 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,617 people with the surname Colin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,735), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.55 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Colin.
Has Colin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Colin went from 8,318 recorded bearers to 7,617. That is a decrease of 701 (-8.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,270 to #4,529.
What does the Census say about the background of Colin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Colin, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 70.8%. The next largest groups are White (17.2%) and Black (10.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Colin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.8% (5,395 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Colin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (70.8%), White (17.2%), Black (10.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Colin (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Colin mean?
A diminutive form of Nicholas, derived from the Greek name Nikolaos, meaning "victory of the people." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Colin (2.55 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Colin?
If you just want to know how common the surname Colin is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.