Cailean
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- KAL-an
- Origin
- Scottish
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,372 for boys
- Style
- Big in Scotland
Cailean is a boys' name of Scottish origin, meaning “young dog, whelp”. In 2025 it ranked 1,372nd for boys in the UK (21 babies).
What does Cailean mean?
Scottish: Scottish Gaelic, usually anglicised as Colin
“young dog, whelp”
Cailean Mór, a 13th-century ancestor of the Campbells, gave the Dukes of Argyll their Gaelic title MacCailein Mòr.
Is Cailean a girl's or a boy's name?
Cailean is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 21 boys in the UK. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Cailean in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,372nd among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 21 about 1 in 14,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 7% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 21 boys in the UK were named Cailean, making it the 1,372nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,733rd. Its busiest year was 2008, with 24 boys.
Half of all the boys named Cailean in the UK since 1996 were born between 2005 and 2019. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
In 2025, 229 boys in the UK were given Cailean or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #239, up from #1,372 for this spelling alone.
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,212th in England and Wales and 243rd in Scotland.
Cailean in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 21 | #1,372 |
| 2024 | 10 | #2,328 |
| 2023 | 13 | #1,917 |
| 2022 | 22 | #1,312 |
| 2021 | 11 | #2,100 |
| 2020 | 14 | #1,733 |
| 2019 | 12 | #1,974 |
| 2018 | 15 | #1,715 |
| 2017 | 16 | #1,649 |
| 2016 | 14 | #1,804 |
| 2015 | 14 | #1,779 |
| 2014 | 10 | #2,207 |
| 2013 | 11 | #2,033 |
| 2012 | 16 | #1,622 |
| 2011 | 8 | #2,503 |
| 2010 | 21 | #1,288 |
| 2009 | 19 | #1,340 |
| 2008 | 24 | #1,129 |
| 2007 | 17 | #1,399 |
| 2006 | 12 | #1,640 |
| 2005 | 17 | #1,267 |
| 2004 | 13 | #1,417 |
| 2003 | 8 | #1,880 |
| 2002 | 7 | #1,900 |
| 2001 | 17 | #1,008 |
| 2000 | 5 | #2,237 |
| 1999 | 14 | #1,087 |
| 1998 | 10 | #1,346 |
| 1997 | 7 | #1,678 |
| 1996 | 9 | #1,394 |
Names like Cailean
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Finn, Brody, Kayden, Conan, Caelan, Cody, Lochlan, Conn, Conlan, Cassian, Brayden, Keegan
Other spellings of Cailean
Names related to Cailean
More Scottish names
Isla, Finley, Logan, Arabella, Cameron, Bonnie, Paisley, Carson, Maxwell, Brodie, Finlay, Blair, Lennox, Skye, Knox, Dallas
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Cailean: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/cailean, updated 20 October 2026.