How rare is the name Colleen?

137,514 people in the United States have the first name Colleen, about 1 in 2,196. It ranks #412 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

COLLEEN

#412

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
137,514
About
1 in 2,196
This common or more
54.8%
Who bears it

Of the 137,514 people named Colleen, 92.7% reported their origin as White, 2.1% as Black and 1.9% as two or more races. Virtually all are female (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Colleen peaked in 1964, when 4,560 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19012025
Peak year
1964
Births that year
4,560
In 2025*
60 ▼99%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 163,084 babies have been given the name since 1901. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Colleen by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1960s, when it ranked #192. The largest share of babies named Colleen, 39.6%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1900s#2,27472
1910s#1,744413
1920s#4846,086
1930s#4187,440
1940s#38110,478
1950s#21735,945
1960s#19240,762
1970s#25223,845
1980s#30319,562
1990s#46212,927
2000s#1,2823,887
2010s#3,0301,274
2020s#4,669393
Greatest Generation 1901–272.7%
Silent Generation 1928–458.5%
Baby boom 1946–6439.6%
Generation X 1965–8027.2%
Millennials 1981–9617.1%
Generation Z 1997–124.2%
2013 and later0.7%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Colleen is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Colleen has been most common in Montana (2.3×), Minnesota (2.1×), and North Dakota (2×), and least common in Mississippi (0.07×).

159,289 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Colleen

#410 Erik · 137,631#411 Heidi · 137,519#413 Ivan · 137,218#414 Levi · 136,747

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Colleen, most common first.

#704 Collin · 72,614#2,403 Coleen · 10,357#9,532 Collen · 1,451#12,289 Collyn · 1,016#14,793 Collene · 790#22,829 Colen · 433#38,539 Collan · 199#43,660 Colleena · 161

Compare