Given name & surname · also Irish
Cullen
“an attractive lady”·“a good-looking young man”
Cullen is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “an attractive lady” (Irish) and “a good-looking young man”. These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “an attractive lady” (Irish) and “a good-looking young man”. These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Irish.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cullen through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 16,703
- 16,591 boys · 112 girls
- Most popular year
- 2010
- 685 babies
- 2025
- 200
- #1,108 for boys · #13,590 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −48%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 194 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,108 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 48.4% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 679 in 2010. It also appeared in 6 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, North Carolina and Texas shared the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (17 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 13,202 as a first name in 2020; 19,574 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.
Cullen’s family of names
Cullen has a related form in Cully. Cullen has a related form in Cullin. Cullen has a related form in Cullan.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Cullanvariant
- Cullynvariant
- Cullinvariant
- Culleyvariant
- Cullyvariant
- Cullievariant
- Cullunvariant
- Cullonvariant
Show 4 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Cullen
- Cullen JonesAmerican swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, former world record-holderborn 1984
- Cullen MossAmerican actorborn 1981
- Cullen LandisAmerican actor, director (1896–1975)
- Cullen BunnAmerican writerborn 1971
- Cullen DouglasAmerican actor and screenwriterborn 1969
- Cullen A. BattleConfederate Army general (1829–1905)
- Cullen BaileyAustralian cricketerborn 1985
- Cullen Jenkinsplayer of American footballborn 1981
- Cullen MurphyAmerican writer and editorborn 1952
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Cullen, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Kellen
“a slender, beautiful, and powerful woman” · “one who is slender”
97% boys · 3% girls
Caden
“a battlemaiden” · “spirt of battle •”
99% boys · 1% girls
Camden
“from the winding valley”
95% boys · 5% girls
Keelan
“a slender and beautiful woman” · “a slender man”
95% boys · 5% girls
Keegan
“small and fiery woman” · “a small and fiery man”
90% boys · 10% girls
Cavan
“a handsome man”
>99% boys
Kelan
“a slender and beautiful woman” · “a slender man”
>99% boys
Colin
“high” · “of the victorious people”
>99% boys