Gender: Masculine
Origin: English/Gaelic
Eng (KAHL-in); Fre (KOLE-lahn)

The name could be of two origins. The first is that it is an anglicized form of the Gaelic Cailean meaning “puppy” or it could be from an archaic French and English diminutive form of Nicolas. 

It was borne by a 9th-century Scots king and has been a common name in Scotland and Ireland since Medieval times.

The name’s popularity outside of Celtic and English-speaking countries may be due to several recent famous personages who have brought the name to the spotlight, including former Secretary of State of the United States and General, Colin Powell (b.1937), British actor Colin Firth (b.1960) and Irish actor, Colin Farrell (b.1976)

Currently, Col(l)in is the 56th most popular male name in Germany, (2011). His rankings in other countries are as follows:

• # 111 (Colin, United States, 2010)
• # 148 (Collin, United States, 2010)
• # 167 (Colin, Netherlands, 2010)
• # 170 (Collin, France, 2010)
• # 346 (Colin, France, 2009)

Despite Colin Powell’s unusual pronunciation of the name (KOLE-in); the name is usually pronounced (KAHL-in) in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

A French feminine form is Coline.