Given name & surname
Collin
“high”·“of the victorious people”
In English use, Collin is a diminutive of Coll. One Celtic interpretation is “high.” In English use, Collin is a diminutive of Nicholas. One Greek interpretation is “of the victorious people.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Collin is a diminutive of Coll. One Celtic interpretation is “high.” In English use, Collin is a diminutive of Nicholas. One Greek interpretation is “of the victorious people.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Collin is a diminutive of Nicholas. An origin associated with Nicholas is Dutch. In French use, Collin has a related form in Colin. An origin associated with Colin is Scottish.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Collin is a diminutive of Nicholas.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1895. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Collin is a diminutive of Nicholas. The history of Nicholas gives this family its wider story. Nicholas’s Christian associations include Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop of Myra in Lycia, about whom virtually nothing factual is known.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Collin through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 81,962
- 81,437 boys · 525 girls
- Most popular year
- 1996
- 3,369 babies
- 2025
- 619
- #493 for boys · #13,572 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −29%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 613 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 493 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 29.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 3,358 in 1996. It also appeared in 6 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (46). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 72,614 as a first name in 2020; 2,577 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Collin’s family of names
In English usage, Collin is a diminutive of Nicholas. In French usage, Collin has a related form in Colin. In French usage, Collin has a conventional equivalent in the English form Colin.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Collin has relatives in 3 languages.
6 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
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.
People named Collin
- Collin BenjaminNamibian footballer and managerborn 1978
- Collin SextonAmerican basketball player (born 1999)
- Collin ChouTaiwanese actorborn 1967
- Collin SamuelTrinidad and Tobago footballerborn 1981
- Collin MorikawaAmerican professional golferborn 1997
- Collin PetersonAmerican politicianborn 1944
- Collin GillespieAmerican basketball player (born 1999)
- Collin Mitchellcurlerborn 1969
- Collin WalcottAmerican musician, ethnomusicologist (1945–1984)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Collin, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Quentin
“the fifth-born child”
>99% boys
Dawson
“the son of David”
96% boys · 4% girls
Nickolas
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Quenton
“the fifth-born child”
>99% boys
Blaine
“a saint's servant” · “a thin woman”
92% boys · 8% girls
Nikolas
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Quenten
“the fifth-born child”
>99% boys
Nicolas
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys