Callaghan
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- KAL-uh-han
- Origin
- Irish
- UK rank, 2025
- #5,065 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #2,990 for boys
Callaghan is a boys' name of Irish origin. In 2025 it ranked 5,065th for boys in the UK (3 babies) and 2,990th for boys in the US (41 babies).
What does Callaghan mean?
Irish: Irish surname O Ceallachain, from the given name Ceallachan
James Callaghan was UK Prime Minister from 1976 to 1979.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Callaghan a girl's or a boy's name?
Callaghan is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 3 boys in the UK and 7 girls and 41 boys in the US.
How popular is Callaghan in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #5,065among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 3about 1 in 100,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 3 boys in the UK were named Callaghan, making it the 5,065th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 6,143rd. Its busiest year was 2006, with 5 boys.
In 2025, 17 boys in the UK were given Callaghan or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,396, up from #5,065 for this spelling alone.
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,974th in England and Wales.
Callaghan in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | #5,065 |
| 2024 | 3 | #5,198 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 1 | #6,143 |
| 2019 | 1 | #6,258 |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 1 | #6,179 |
| 2013 | 1 | #6,198 |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 1 | #6,148 |
| 2009 | 3 | #4,691 |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 5 | #3,013 |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 4 | #2,714 |
| 2000 | 3 | #3,146 |
How popular is Callaghan in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,990among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 41about 1 in 42,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Rising fastup 105% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 41 boys in the US were named Callaghan, making it the 2,990th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,037th. It first appears in the records in 1994. 7 girls were also named Callaghan in 2025 (11,928th for girls).
2025 had the most boys named Callaghan of any year since it first appeared, in 1994.
Half of all the boys named Callaghan in the US since 1880 were born between 2011 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 1,693 boys in the US were given Callaghan or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #232, up from #2,990 for this spelling alone.
In 2025, 15% of the babies named Callaghan in the US were girls.
Callaghan in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 41 | #2,990 |
| 2024 | 33 | #3,453 |
| 2023 | 39 | #3,115 |
| 2022 | 36 | #3,276 |
| 2021 | 24 | #4,243 |
| 2020 | 18 | #5,037 |
| 2019 | 19 | #4,947 |
| 2018 | 18 | #5,102 |
| 2017 | 10 | #7,542 |
| 2016 | 10 | #7,600 |
| 2015 | 6 | #10,638 |
| 2014 | 9 | #8,124 |
| 2013 | 6 | #10,722 |
| 2012 | 7 | #9,703 |
| 2011 | 5 | #12,280 |
| 2010 | 5 | #12,224 |
| 2009 | 8 | #8,980 |
| 2008 | 8 | #9,013 |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 7 | #9,579 |
| 2005 | 6 | #10,144 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 5 | #10,886 |
| 2002 | 8 | #7,636 |
| 2001 | 5 | #10,548 |
| 2000 | 6 | #9,104 |
| 1999 | 9 | #6,524 |
| 1998 | 10 | #5,834 |
| 1997 | 5 | #9,259 |
| 1996 | 6 | #7,964 |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 5 | #8,794 |
Nicknames for Callaghan
- Cal 10 boys in the UK in 2025
Names like Callaghan
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Finn Ronan Conan Conlan Declan Callan Caelan Keegan Aiden Cassian Kayden Kian
Other spellings of Callaghan
More Irish names
Oscar Rowan Rory Maeve Ryan Nolan Quinn Orla Cody Erin Connor Casey Kennedy Lennon Cillian Kevin
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Callaghan: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/callaghan, updated 20 October 2026.