Collins
Masculine · “son of Colin”
Collins is given to both — 3,686 boys and 10,779 girls since 1880. See Collins as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Collins is son of Colin, and Colin descends from Nicholas — victory of the people — by way of a French diminutive.
How old is the name Collins?
Collins first appears in US birth records in 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Collins alive today was born around 1975, making them about 50 years old. About 2,400 people named Collins are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Collins most popular?
Collins peaked in 1900, reaching #623 nationally. Today it ranks #2676, 2,053 places below that high. See the whole 1900 chart.
Where it comes from
From Nicholas to Collins
The story of Collins
Colin came from Colle, a French short form of Nicholas, with a diminutive ending; the patronymic Collins descends from it. Separately, Ó Coileáin was a Limerick sept whose name means young hound. Michael Collins and Wilkie Collins both carried the surname. It is in current American use.
Meaningscholars disagree
son of Colin
Two routes. A patronymic from Colin, a French diminutive of Nicholas, from the Greek nike, 'victory', and laos, 'people'. Or the Irish Ó Coileáin, from coileán, 'young hound'. Both are attested for the surname and neither dominates.
How the name formed
- Nicholas
- Colin
- Collins
Related forms: Ó Coileáin · Colin
Pronouncing Collins
KOL-inz
Two syllables, stress on the first. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Collins
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1881
- Most boys named
- 201160 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #623reached in 1900
- Change vs 2022
- −12.7%48 in 2025, from 55
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Collins in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ó Coileáin in Irish — related form
- Colin in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Alabama, Florida.
Collinss among us
people named Collins are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 35,585 born in 2025 was named Collins
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Collins
- #2676
- Collins on the 2025 chart
- #873
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Collins went to 48 boys in 2025, but Kollins is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 55, which makes it the 873rd most-given boys’ name of the year — 1,803 places above the chart.
- Collins48
- Kollins7
About 1 boy in 31,056 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 35,585 for Collins itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Collins sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Collins is headed
Collins should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Collins beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Collins in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The young-hound meaning is vivid where the Irish route holds.
- Colin is available as a root name with a large record.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- It reads unmistakably as a surname.
- It is used for both sexes in America.
- The origin is split between two routes.
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Collins
Masculine · #2676 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Collinss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,400 people named Collins are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Collins?
- Collins is the most-used spelling in US records — 48 of the 55 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Kollins.
- How popular is the name Collins in 2025?
- Collins ranks #2676 among US boy names in 2025, with 48 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Collins?
- About 1 in every 35,585 US boys born in 2025 was named Collins — 48 in all.
- Will my child share the name Collins with classmates?
- Collins will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Collins
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Isaak#2676 · Hershel#2676 · Mikhael#2676 · Kylon#2676 · Pryce#2676 · Davin#2676 · Juancarlos#2676 · Zyion#2676
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Collins? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Collins and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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