Callum
Callum was the 118th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 2,995 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 567 places. More babies were named Callum in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning dove (Gaelic form of Columba) · Scottish Gaelic, Latin
Say it KAL-uhm /ˈkæləm/
- Rank in 2025
- #118 boys, up 218 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 2,995boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20252,995 babies
- Total since 1880
- 16,089babies recorded
What does the name Callum mean?
Callum is a spelling of the Scottish Gaelic Calum, from Late Latin Columba, 'dove', the name of the 6th-century Irish missionary Saint Columba, a patron saint of Scotland; Wiktionary explains this. It is also a short form of the surname McCallum, 'son of Calum'. DMNES gives Latin columba as 'pigeon, dove'. Malcolm comes from a related Gaelic name that DMNES explains as 'tonsured one (devotee) of Columba'.
Calum (Scottish Gaelic, “Columba”)columba (Latin, “dove, pigeon”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Calum, Colm, Malcolm, Columba, Kallum.
See also: Latin names, names that mean an animal.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Callum', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wiktionary, entry 'Calum', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Columba', Durham University / The DMNES Editors
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Malcolm', Durham University / The DMNES Editors
Nicknames for Callum
The usual nicknames for Callum are Cal. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Callum in the last five years, 20 were named Cal, against 91 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cal · also for Caleb, Calvin, Callan | Modern | #543 | 1,942 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Callums go by each one.
Callum popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 38 since 2021, 8 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #118 | 2,995 |
| 2020 | #336 | 968 |
| 2010 | #847 | 250 |
| 2000 | #1,515 | 79 |
| 1990 | #4,705 | 11 |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Callum, counting every spelling?
Callum is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #112 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #118 for Callum on its own. Together these spellings went to 3,445 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Callum | 2,995 | #118 | 9,587 |
| Calum | 313 | #799 | 1,421 |
| Kallum | 114 | #1,522 | 416 |
| Kalum | 23 | #4,468 | 95 |
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 Callum?
2,995 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Callum (0.83 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Callum 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 3 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Callum.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Callum?
About 15,900 people born in the US named Callum are alive today, with a median age of 4; half are between 2 and 9. That makes Callum 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.
Callum by state
How common Callum was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New Hampshire (3.9×), Vermont (3.6×), Maine (3.1×), Rhode Island (2.9×), Nebraska (2.8×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Mexico, Mississippi, Florida.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Callum: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Callum, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Callum · Sibling names for Callum
Questions about the name Callum
What does Callum mean?
Callum means “dove (Gaelic form of Columba)” (Scottish Gaelic, Latin origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Callum?
Callum was the 118th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 2,995 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 567 places. More babies were named Callum in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Callum a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Callum in the US.
Where is Callum most popular?
In 2021–2025, Callum was most common in New Hampshire (4.32 per 1,000 boys), followed by Vermont and Maine.