Given name & surname
Colleen
“a young peasant girl”
Colleen is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “a young peasant girl.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “a young peasant girl.”
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1901. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Colleen through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 163,084
- 330 boys · 162,754 girls
- Most popular year
- 1964
- 4,560 babies
- 2025
- 60
- #2,829 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −28%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 60 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,829 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 27.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 4,546 in 1964. In 2025, California and Texas shared the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (6 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 137,514 as a first name in 2020; 121 as a surname in 2000.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Colleen’s family of names
In English usage, Colleen has a related form in Coleen. Colleen has a related form in Coleen. Colleen has a related form in Collene.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Colleyvariant
- Collievariant
- Collinevariant
- Collenevariant
- Collenavariant
- Coleenvariant · English
- Collynavariant
- Collynevariant
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Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Colleen
- Colleen McCulloughAustralian author (1937-2015)
- Colleen HooverAmerican authorborn 1979
- CoCo VandewegheAmerican tennis playerborn 1991
- Colleen DewhurstCanadian-American actress (1924-1991)
- Colleen MooreAmerican actress (1899–1988)
- Colleen BallingerAmerican comedian, singer, actress, writer and media personalityborn 1986
- Colleen CampAmerican actress and film producerborn 1953
- Vitamin CAmerican singer and actressborn 1969
- Colleen AtwoodAmerican costume designerborn 1948
Characters named Colleen: Colleen Wing (Marvel Comics).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Colleen, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Maureen
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Maura
“moor” · “dark, swarthy”
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