Callahan
Callahan was the 227th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,566 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,579 places. More babies were named Callahan in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning descendant of Ceallachán · Irish
Say it KAL-uh-han /ˈkæləhæn/
- Rank in 2025
- #227 boys, up 579 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,566boys
- Girls and boys
- 9% girls, 91% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20251,566 babies
- Total since 1880
- 7,031babies recorded
What does the name Callahan mean?
Callahan is an English form of the Irish surname Ó Ceallacháin, "descendant of Ceallachán". Ceallachán is a diminutive of Ceallach, a personal name often linked with "strife" or with "bright-headed", but its meaning is uncertain. Wiktionary notes that Kelly comes from the same root. Woulfe's 1923 index lists O'Callaghan and Callaghan among the forms. As a boy's first name it is a recent American use.
Ó Ceallacháin (Irish, “descendant of Ceallachán”)Ceallach (Old Irish, “personal name (meaning uncertain)”)
How sure is this? Probable. 'Descendant of Ceallachán' is clear; the meaning of Ceallach is not.
Related names: Callaghan, Kelly, Cal.
See also: Irish names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Callahan', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Patrick Woulfe, Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames (1923), index of Irish surnames and their anglicized forms, M. H. Gill & Son (Internet Archive scan)
Nicknames for Callahan
The usual nicknames for Callahan are Cal. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Callahan in the last five years, 47 were named Cal, against 270 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cal · also for Caleb, Calvin, Callum | Modern | #543 | 1,942 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Callahans go by each one.
Callahan popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,748 | #227 | 116 | 1,566 |
| 2020 | #3,628 | #806 | 41 | 288 |
| 2010 | #7,596 | #2,795 | 16 | 43 |
| 2000 | #6,257 | #2,579 | 17 | 36 |
| 1990 | — | #7,301 | — | 6 |
| 1980 | — | — | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Callahan, counting every spelling?
Callahan is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #236 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #227 for Callahan on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,630 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Callahan | 1,566 | #227 | 4,120 |
| Kallahan | 38 | #3,163 | 100 |
| Calahan | 26 | #4,063 | 82 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Callahan?
1,566 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Callahan (0.43 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Callahan born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 5 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Callahan.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Callahan?
About 6,000 people born in the US named Callahan are alive today, with a median age of 3; half are between 1 and 7. That makes Callahan a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Callahan by state
How common Callahan was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Montana (4.6×), North Dakota (4.5×), Idaho (3.0×), Minnesota (2.9×), Wisconsin (2.8×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in West Virginia, Connecticut, Louisiana.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Callahan: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Callahan, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Callahan · Sibling names for Callahan
Questions about the name Callahan
What does Callahan mean?
Callahan means “descendant of Ceallachán” (Irish origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Callahan?
Callahan was the 227th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,566 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,579 places. More babies were named Callahan in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Callahan a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 9% girls, 91% boys given the name Callahan in the US.
Where is Callahan most popular?
In 2021–2025, Callahan was most common in Montana (2.21 per 1,000 boys), followed by North Dakota and Idaho.