Colum

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Colum: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Colum: Recorded since 1964, it reached #115 in 1969, and it was last ranked in 2013.

3registrars recorded it
60times a registrar ranked it
50years from first to last
#115highest recorded position
13groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–1999

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1591
1997	#2859
1998	#1821
1999	#2425

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 49 of the 50 years from 1964 to 2013.

In 2012: #403 among boys in Northern Ireland, #616 among boys in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 3 national registrars across 3 regions, 1964–2013 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1964
First recorded at #119 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1964–2013
Highest recorded position: #115 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1969 (recorded 1964–2013).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2013
Most recently recorded at #605 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2013.
Republic of Ireland · Boys

Colum appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, which has ranked it in 49 years beginning in 1964, and has registered 764 births with the name.

Colum 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.

Colum'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	#119 (1964)	#115 (1969)	#605 (2013)	49 of 50	764 (1964–2013)	35 (1971)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#248 (1997)	#248 (1997)	#403 (2012)	7 of 16	24 (1997–2012)	5 (2008)
England and Wales · Boys	#1591 (1996)	#1591 (1996)	#2425 (1999)	4 of 4	20 (1996–1999)	7 (1996)

Colum 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 Colum in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	125	6 of 10	21
1970sbusiest	265	10 of 10	27
1980s	187	10 of 10	19
1990s	98	10 of 10	10
2000s	76	10 of 10	8
2010s	13	3 of 10	4

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 1970s were its busiest decade, averaging 27 births a year.

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

Colum appears in

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

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 3 regions, from 1964 to 2013. Highest recorded position: #115 in Republic of Ireland in 1969.

Colum's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
1999	England and Wales	male	#2425	4	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#1821	6	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#2859	3	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#1591	7	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	male	#403	3	High	Verified
2008	Northern Ireland	male	#291	5	High	Verified
2005	Northern Ireland	male	#307	3	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	male	#305	3	High	Verified
2003	Northern Ireland	male	#299	3	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	male	#280	3	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	male	#248	4	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#605	4	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#616	4	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#540	5	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#604	4	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#346	11	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#473	5	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#354	7	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#268	10	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#283	9	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#375	5	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#267	8	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	male	#273	7	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	male	#214	10	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	male	#330	4	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#242	6	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	male	#251	8	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	male	#234	9	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	male	#191	13	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	male	#237	7	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	male	#199	11	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	male	#192	12	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	male	#179	13	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	male	#175	15	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	male	#159	17	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	male	#152	19	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#172	15	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	male	#158	18	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	male	#170	14	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	male	#151	21	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	male	#145	24	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#159	20	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#160	20	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	male	#166	19	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	male	#162	18	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#131	30	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	male	#141	25	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#127	33	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#125	29	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	male	#154	20	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	male	#135	26	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#141	24	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#117	35	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	male	#129	25	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	male	#115	28	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	male	#117	25	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	male	#119	22	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	male	#123	20	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	male	#148	12	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	male	#119	18	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 3 registrars between 1964 and 2013, ranked in 49 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #115, first reached in 1969.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 35 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1971.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 33 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.

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.

Colt · #339, 25y
Colton · #142, 26y
Columba · #145, 10y
Comfort · #677, 21y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 3 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.

Jacek · #116, 54y
Pascal · #116, 46y
Siofra · #116, 48y
Maire · #113, 54y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Eanna · #115, 57y
Fiachra · #115, 58y
Fidelma · #116, 31y
Fionnuala · #116, 60y

Colum was ranked #115 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1969. 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.

Colum 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 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Colum without appearing here.

Colum moved ahead of

Ronald Compare
In 1980 they stood at #166 and #152 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 1981 that had become #160 and #217.
Garry Compare
In 1999 they stood at #330 and #241 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2000 that had become #214 and #250.
Roger Compare
In 1981 they stood at #160 and #160 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 1982 that had become #159 and #171.

Moved ahead of Colum

Levi Compare
In 2008 they stood at #346 and #386 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2009 that had become #604 and #271.
Xavier Compare
In 2008 they stood at #346 and #386 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2009 that had become #604 and #271.
Finley Compare
In 2011 they stood at #540 and #623 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2012 that had become #616 and #336.
Graham Compare
In 2011 they stood at #540 and #623 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2012 that had become #616 and #354.

Moved the opposite way to Colum

Alexander Compare
Between 1964 and 2013 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Colum went from #119 to #605 while Alexander went from #116 to #39.
Benjamin Compare
Between 1964 and 2013 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Colum went from #119 to #605 while Benjamin went from #139 to #68.
Conor Compare
Between 1964 and 2013 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Colum went from #119 to #605 while Conor went from #56 to #4.
Daniel Compare
Between 1964 and 2013 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Colum went from #119 to #605 while Daniel went from #19 to #3.

Moved the same way as Colum

Adrian Compare
Between 1964 and 2013 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Colum went from #119 to #605 and Adrian from #65 to #161.
Alan Compare
Between 1964 and 2013 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Colum went from #119 to #605 and Alan from #29 to #76.
Alfred Compare
Between 1964 and 2013 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Colum went from #119 to #605 and Alfred from #134 to #383.
Andrew Compare
Between 1964 and 2013 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Colum went from #119 to #605 and Andrew from #34 to #60.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 3 regions, from 1964 to 2013. Highest recorded position: #115 in Republic of Ireland in 1969. Source data last verified 2026-07-22.

Colum

Colum at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Colum across 3 official records

Colum by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Colum appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Colum

Colum and the names beside it

Colum moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Colum

Moved the opposite way to Colum

Moved the same way as Colum

Colum at a glance

Colum across 3 official records

Colum by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Colum appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Colum

Colum and the names beside it

Colum moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Colum

Moved the opposite way to Colum

Moved the same way as Colum