Colin (given name)
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| Colin | |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈkoʊlᵻn/ or /ˈkɒlᵻn/ |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Gaelic |
| Meaning | Various meanings including "young pup", "whelp", "cub", "victorious people", "dark", "dove", |
| Region of origin | Scotland |
 |
Look up Colin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Colin (sometimes spelled Collin) is a male given name. Colin is usually pronounced /ˈkɒlᵻn/ KO-lin, although some (primarily in the US) use /ˈkoʊlᵻn/ KOH-lin.
Like many given names, it has multiple origins, including:
- an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Cailean" or "Coileáin", meaning "whelp", "cub", or "young pup";
- a diminutive form of Nicolas (before the 17th century in England, most nicknames had the diminutive ending "in" or "Kin", where the ending is attached to the first syllable, a few remain such as Robin (Rob-in, from Robert), Hank (Hen-Kin from Henry), Jack (Jan-kin from John), and Colin (Col-in from Nicolas));
- a diminutive form of "Colle", a short French form of Nicholas (Greek), meaning "victorious people";
- a development of the Norse name "Koli", meaning "dark", a Middle English surname given to those living on property whose ownership was disputed;
In the UK and Ireland, the name tends to be spelt with one "L", Colin; in the US, it is sometimes spelt with two, Collin. It ranked 319th most popular name England and Wales in 1996 and 684th most popular in 2014.[1] It has been moderately popular in the United States and was listed in the top 100 boys names in the U.S. in 2005.[2] In Scotland it ranked 302 in 2014,[3][4] but in Ireland it is more popular, ranking 88th in 2006.[5] Colin is slowly becoming more popular in the US, making the top 100 boys' names in each of the three years to 2005, with Collin being slightly less popular. In total, the two spellings accounted for around 1 in 300 boys named in the US in 2005.[6]
People
Colin may refer to a number of notable people:
A–E
- Colin Baker, British actor
- Colin Bean, British actor
- Colin Bell, Manchester City and England footballer
- Colin Bland, South African cricketer
- Colin Blunstone, singer from the Zombies
- Colin Braun, American race car driver
- Colin Burgess (musician) (born 1946), Australian Musician
- Colin C. Berry, Canadian actor
- Colin Calderwood, Scottish footballer, coach and manager
- Sir Colin Campbell (died 1296), Scottish warrior and progenitor of Clan Campbell
- Colin Campbell Cooper, American Impressionist painter
- Colin Campbell Mitchell, British Army lieutenant-colonel and politician
- Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde, (1792–1863) Scottish soldier
- See Colin Campbell (disambiguation) for more people with this name
- Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus Cars
- Colin Clark (disambiguation)
- Colin Clive, British actor
- Colin Coates (born 1946), Australian ice speed skater
- Colin Cowdrey, English cricketer
- Colin Cowherd, American sports radio personality
- Colin Croft, West Indian cricketer
- Colin Cunningham (swimmer), British swimmer
- Colin Cunningham, American film and TV actor
- Colin Davis, English conductor
- Colin Delaney, American professional wrestler
- Colin Edwards, American motorcycle racer
- Colin Egglesfield, American actor
- Colin Emerle, American musician
F–M
- Colin Farrell, Irish actor
- Colin Ferguson (actor), Canadian actor
- Colin Ferguson (mass murderer), American mass murderer
- Colin Firth (born 1960), British actor
- Colin Fox (actor), Canadian actor
- Colin Greening, Canadian pro hockey player
- Colin Greenwood, bassist for rock band Radiohead
- Colin Griffiths, comedian
- Colin Hanks, American actor
- Colin Hay (born 1953), Scottish-Australian lead singer of Men at Work
- Colin Hendry (born 1965), Scottish footballer
- Cuilén mac Ildulb (died 971), King of Scots
- Colin Jackson, Welsh hurdler
- Colin Jost, American comedian, screenwriter, and TV actor
- Colin Kaepernick, American NFL footballer
- Colin Kelly, American aviator and war hero of the Second World War
- Colin Lane (born 1965), Australian comedian
- Colin Maclaurin, Scottish mathematician
- Colin Mathura-Jeffree, New Zealand actor/model/celebrity
- Colin McAllister, Scottish interior designer and television presenter.
- Colin McComb, American game designer
- Colin McGinn, British philosopher
- Colin McRae (1968–2007), Scottish rally driver
- Colin Meads, New Zealand rugby union player
- Colin Meloy, American guitarist and singer in The Decemberists
- Colin Mochrie, Scottish Canadian actor/improv comedian
- Colin Montgomerie, Scottish golfer
- Colin Morgan, Irish actor
- Colin Moulding, bassist and singer for band XTC
- Colin Murray, British radio DJ and television presenter
N–Z
- Col Needham, founder of the Internet Movie Database
- Colin Newman, singer and guitarist for band Wire
- Colin O'Donoghue, Irish actor
- Colin Pillinger, British planetary scientist
- Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State
- Colin Quinn, American comedian
- Colin Reitz, British long-distance runner
- Colin Richardson, music producer
- Colin Slade, New Zealand rugby union player
- Colin Stagg, the man wrongly imprisoned in the Rachel Nickell murder case
- Colin Touchin, British musician and conductor
- Colin Turnbull, sociologist and author
- Colin Ward, political writer
- Colin Welland, British actor and screenwriter
- Colin Wilson, British writer
- See Colin Wilson (disambiguation) for more people with this name
- Colin Winter, bishop
In fiction
- Colin Creevey, fictional character from the Harry Potter series
- Colin Craven, fictional character from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Colin Clout, fictional poetic folk figure, appearing first in the works of John Skelton and later in many works by Edmund Spenser, including his first major poetic work The Shepheardes Calender
See also
- Colin (disambiguation)
- List of Scottish Gaelic given names
- List of Irish-language given names
- Collin (disambiguation)
References
- ↑ http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/baby-names--england-and-wales/2014/baby-names-in-england-and-wales--2014.html#tab-Further-information
- ↑ http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/popularnames.cgi
- ↑ http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/names/babies-first-names/full-lists-of-babies-first-names-2010-to-2014
- ↑ http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/popular-names/the-most-popular-names-in-scotland-2007/index.html
- ↑ http://www.cso.ie/releasespublications/documents/births_d_m/current/babynames.pdf
- ↑ http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/
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