Caolan

maleIrish

Traditionally interpreted as 'slender' or 'little slender one' — a diminutive built on the Irish word caol ('slender').

Origin: Irish

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1982 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #28 in Northern Ireland in 1997. See regions.

Caolan: Recorded since 1982, it reached #28 in 1997, and it stood at #286 in 2025.

4registrars recorded it
100times a registrar ranked it
44years from first to last
#28highest recorded position
21groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Caolan's record

Held a top-100 place for 25 years running. Names by top-100 run
Moved 197 places between two consecutive years — its largest recorded change. Names by largest single-year move

KEE-lawn/ˈkiːlˠaːnˠ/

Compare Caolan Run Name Checker on Caolan

Data Confidence

Evidence: ModerateCompleteness: SubstantialEditorial review: 2026-07-21

Confidence in the evidencebehind this name's data — never a rating of the name itself, and never affected by how well it matches your preferences. How this is assessed

Because: backed by officially or academically authoritative sources, recently verified, popularity data covers multiple regions.

Source authority

Averaged from the real per-claim source-authority assessments already computed for this name's meaning/origin/pronunciation/popularity evidence.

Independent corroboration

Averaged from the real per-claim supporting-source counts already computed for this name's evidence.

See full evidence assessment (8 dimensions, 1 not yet tracked)

Source agreement

No recorded source disagreement for this name's meanings or origins.

Recency

Calculated from how long ago this record was last verified (2026-07-21), against a 270-day staleness threshold.

Geographic relevance

Calculated from the number of geographies with official popularity data (4) — broader official coverage means the evidence base is relevant to more of where the name is actually used.

Completeness

Calculated from how many of the expected data sections (variants, similar names, popularity, notable usage, IPA pronunciation) are actually populated for this name.

Direct observation vs. inference

Averaged from the real per-claim direct-observation-vs-inference ratios already computed for this name's evidence.

Identity & variant resolution quality

Cross-source identity and variant resolution requires HEKNO Knowledge, which isn't connected yet.

Name Characteristics

How these are calculated

Descriptive attributes of the name itself — not a confidence measurement, and not an overall quality score. Namewise doesn't approve or disapprove of names.

Pronunciation clarity

Editorial judgement of how consistently this name is pronounced correctly on first read, mapped from an easy/moderate/variable rating to a number. Describes the name — not a measure of evidence confidence.

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling: shorter names with fewer irregular letter clusters score higher. A disclosed formula, not an editorial opinion — and not a confidence measurement.

Recorded regional spread

Derived from how many geographies' official statistics record this name. It measures where the name is registered, not how well-known it feels to people living there.

International spread

Derived from the same official statistical coverage, scaled to reflect how widely the name crosses national datasets. Not a measure of how easily it is understood in another language.

Trend stability

Derived from the name's traditional/modern classification and its current popularity trend direction.

Overview

Origin: Irish
Meaning: Traditionally interpreted as 'slender' or 'little slender one' — a diminutive built on the Irish word caol ('slender').
Pronunciation: KEE-lawn
Syllables: 2
Common nicknames: None recorded
Classification: Traditional & modern
Gender usage: male
Language family: Irish

Popularity

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2025

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#976
1997	#1454
1998	#1000
1999	#973
2000	#1048
2001	#1135
2002	#2005
2003	#1629
2004	#1222
2005	#1716
2006	#1892
2007	#2211
2008	#2276
2009	#2318
2010	#2400
2011	#2039
2012	#1962
2013	#2954
2014	#1560
2015	#1902
2016	#1704
2017	#1703
2018	#2112
2019	#2104
2020	#1492
2021	#1782
2022	#1879
2023	#1243
2024	#1517
2025	#1538

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 41 of the 44 years from 1982 to 2025.

In 2025: #286 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #1538 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1982–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1982
First recorded at #286 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1982 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #1538 among boys in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Boys

Caolan appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, which has ranked it in 41 years beginning in 1982, and has registered 912 births with the name.

Caolan across 3 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Caolan's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#286 (1982)	#120 (1999)	#286 (2025)	41 of 44	912 (1982–2025)	43 (2012)
England and Wales · Boys	#976 (1996)	#973 (1999)	#1538 (2025)	30 of 30	358 (1996–2025)	22 (2023)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#28 (1997)	#28 (1997)	#89 (2024)	28 of 28	1,586 (1997–2024)	117 (1997)

Caolan by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Caolan in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1980s	38	5 of 10	8
1990s	201	10 of 10	20
2000s	288	10 of 10	29
2010sbusiest	298	10 of 10	30
2020s	87	6 of 10	15

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 2010s were its busiest decade, averaging 30 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Caolan appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1982 and 2025, ranked in 41 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #28, first reached in 1997.

It held a top-100 place in 27 years, 25 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 117 births, registered in Northern Ireland in 1997.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 3 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 42 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Caolan was ranked #28 in Northern Ireland · Boys in 1997. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Dylan#23
Peter#23
William#26
Paul#27
Ciaran#29
Ross#30
Luke#31
Kyle#32

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Caoimhe · #12, 57y
Caoimhin · #99, 39y
Caomhan · #192, 20y
Capri · #790, 20y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Bobby · #27, 41y
Rian · #22, 36y
Rhonda · #21, 37y
Shay · #39, 39y

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1980 and 1989.

Louie · #28, 32y
Bobby · #27, 41y
Kimberley · #27, 45y
Luna · #30, 34y

Caolan and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,577 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Caolan without appearing here.

Caolan moved ahead of

Garry
In 2013 they stood at #2954 and #2216 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2014 that had become #1560 and #4632.
Geoffrey
In 2022 they stood at #1879 and #1879 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #1243 and #4107.
Roger
In 2022 they stood at #1879 and #1781 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #1243 and #3523.
Grant
In 2019 they stood at #2104 and #1869 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2020 that had become #1492 and #3334.

Moved ahead of Caolan

Theodor
In 2009 they stood at #2318 and #2544 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2010 that had become #2400 and #1201.
Arlo
In 2001 they stood at #1135 and #1949 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2002 that had become #2005 and #848.
Cooper
In 2001 they stood at #1048 and #1425 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2002 that had become #2005 and #907.
Tadhg
In 2014 they stood at #1560 and #1630 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2015 that had become #1902 and #996.

Moved the opposite way to Caolan

Jake
Between 1986 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Caolan went from #192 to #286 while Jake went from #317 to #95.
Joshua
Between 1986 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Caolan went from #192 to #286 while Joshua went from #317 to #81.
Rhys
Between 1988 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Caolan went from #196 to #286 while Rhys went from #319 to #179.
Graeme
Between 1982 and 2013 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Caolan went from #286 to #171 while Graeme went from #217 to #711.

Moved the same way as Caolan

Mohammed
Between 1986 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Caolan went from #192 to #286 and Mohammed from #256 to #468.
Tobias
Between 1986 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Caolan went from #192 to #286 and Tobias from #317 to #676.
Oskar
Between 1995 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Caolan went from #147 to #286 and Oskar from #334 to #468.
Aaron
Between 1996 and 2025 in England and Wales · Boys, Caolan went from #976 to #1538 and Aaron from #33 to #180.

Meaning & Origin

Traditionally interpreted as 'slender' or 'little slender one' — a diminutive built on the Irish word caol ('slender').

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Irish

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Other names with a researched meaning and origin →

Where Caolan is officially recorded

4 official registrars have recorded Caolan, between 1982 and 2025, in 41 of those 44 years. Each registrar publishes for its own population on its own methodology, so the positions below are each one country's own ranking and are not comparable with one another.

Registrar	Recorded	Years	Its own highest position
Republic of Ireland	1982–2025	41	#120 in 1999
England and Wales	1996–2025	30	#973 in 1999
Northern Ireland	1997–2024	28	#28 in 1997
Scotland	2024	1	#619 in 2024

Its high point came 27 years earlier in Northern Ireland (1997) than in Scotland (2024).

No registrar recorded it for 3 years after 1982; it appears again in 1986.

Variants

No spelling variants or nicknames recorded yet.

Similar Names

No similar names recorded yet for this name.

Similarity is a demonstration score — see methodology.

Spelling

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling — see Name Characteristics above.

No commonly used alternate spellings recorded.

Pronunciation

KEE-lawn/ˈkiːlˠaːnˠ/

Syllables: 2
Ease: easy

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Where Caolan Is Recorded

National statistical agencies have recorded Caolan in these places. This shows where the name is used — not where it comes from, and not that it carries particular cultural significance there.

England and WalesNorthern IrelandScotlandRepublic of Ireland

Notable Usage

No safely-sourced notable usage recorded for this name yet.

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

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Caolan

Caolan at a glance

What stands out in Caolan's record

Overview

Popularity

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Caolan across 3 official records

Caolan by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Caolan appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Caolan

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Caolan and the names beside it

Caolan moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Caolan

Moved the opposite way to Caolan

Moved the same way as Caolan

Meaning & Origin

Where Caolan is officially recorded

Variants

Similar Names

Spelling

Pronunciation

Where Caolan Is Recorded

Notable Usage

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

Caolan at a glance

What stands out in Caolan's record

Caolan across 3 official records

Caolan by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Caolan appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Caolan

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Caolan and the names beside it

Caolan moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Caolan

Moved the opposite way to Caolan

Moved the same way as Caolan