Collins
Collins was the 241st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,286 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 239th; the most babies were born in 2025 (1,286). Over the last ten years it has moved up 463 places. More babies were named Collins in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning son of Colin; Irish Ó Coileáin · English, Irish
Say it KAH-linz /ˈkɑlɪnz/
- Rank in 2025
- #241 girls, up 123 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,286girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20251,286 babies
- Total since 1880
- 14,465babies recorded
What does the name Collins mean?
Collins is a surname with two main sources. In England it was a patronymic, "son of Colin", Colin being a medieval pet form of Nicholas built on the short form Coll. In Ireland it became the usual English form of Ó Coileáin, "descendant of Coileán", a personal name that is also the Irish word for a whelp or young dog. Woulfe's 1923 index of Irish surnames lists Collins among the anglicized forms of Ó Coileáin. As a first name it is a modern transfer from the surname.
Colin (Middle English, “pet form of Nicholas”)Ó Coileáin (Irish, “descendant of Coileán”)coileán (Irish, “whelp, young dog”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Collin, Colin, Collen.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Collins', 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)
- Wiktionary, entry 'coileán', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
Collins popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #241 | #2,684 | 1,286 | 48 |
| 2020 | #364 | #2,592 | 846 | 49 |
| 2010 | #1,774 | #2,266 | 116 | 57 |
| 2000 | — | #2,686 | — | 34 |
| 1990 | — | #2,094 | — | 35 |
| 1980 | — | #2,229 | — | 23 |
| 1970 | — | #2,922 | — | 11 |
| 1960 | — | #1,436 | — | 31 |
| 1950 | — | #1,295 | — | 31 |
| 1940 | — | #1,190 | — | 32 |
| 1930 | — | #1,706 | — | 19 |
| 1920 | — | #1,109 | — | 41 |
| 1910 | — | #1,057 | — | 10 |
| 1900 | — | #630 | — | 16 |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Collins, counting every spelling?
Collins is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #192 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #241 for Collins on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,814 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collins | 1,286 | #241 | 6,032 |
| Kollyns | 293 | #905 | 1,105 |
| Kollins | 135 | #1,568 | 683 |
| Collyns | 100 | #1,930 | 417 |
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 Collins?
1,286 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Collins (0.36 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Collins 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 7 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Collins.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Collins?
About 10,700 people born in the US named Collins are alive today, with a median age of 5; half are between 3 and 8. That makes Collins 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.
Collins by state
How common Collins was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in South Dakota (5.6×), North Dakota (5.4×), Nebraska (4.5×), Alabama (4.0×), Iowa (3.4×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in California, New Jersey, New York.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Collins: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Collins, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Collins · Sibling names for Collins
Questions about the name Collins
What does Collins mean?
Collins means “son of Colin; Irish Ó Coileáin” (English, Irish origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Collins?
Collins was the 241st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,286 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 239th; the most babies were born in 2025 (1,286). Over the last ten years it has moved up 463 places. More babies were named Collins in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Collins a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Collins in the US.
Where is Collins most popular?
In 2021–2025, Collins was most common in South Dakota (4.13 per 1,000 girls), followed by North Dakota and Nebraska.