Colman
Masculine · “Irish colm”
The Irish martyrologies list more than two hundred saints called Colman. It is the commonest saint's name in Ireland by a wide margin, which means that for centuries a family choosing it could not have told you which Colman they meant, and did not need to.
How old is the name Colman?
Colman first appears in US birth records in 1909 — 116 years ago. The typical Colman alive today was born around 1981, making them about 44 years old. About 600 people named Colman are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Colman most popular?
Colman peaked in 1909, reaching #1083 nationally. Today it ranks #8910, 7,827 places below that high. See the whole 1909 chart.
Where it comes from
From columba to Colman
The story of Colman
Irish saints' names cluster extraordinarily tightly. The martyrologies, chiefly the Martyrology of Oengus and the Martyrology of Donegal, list over two hundred figures named Colman, along with dozens of Ciarans, Brendans, Finnians and Brigids. The reason is partly monastic: a founder's name was taken by his followers and by the founders of daughter houses, so a successful cult multiplied its own name across the island. It is also a problem for historians, since distinguishing one Colman from another requires a place name attached, and many have none. Colman of Lindisfarne, who argued the Irish case at the Synod of Whitby in 664 and left for Ireland when it was rejected, is the best documented of them. The name itself is simply the dove, made small by the affectionate ending Irish attaches freely to sacred words.
Meaning
Irish colm, dove
Colman is Irish Colman, a diminutive of colm, a dove, itself from Latin columba. It is the same element as in Colum Cille, Columba of Iona. The dove is a Christian symbol of the Holy Spirit, which is why the name was so heavily used by Irish clerics. The American peak is 1909.
How the name formed
- columba
- colm
- Colman
Related forms: Colman · Coleman · Columbanus
Pronouncing Colman
KOL-mun
Two syllables, stress on the first. Coleman, the commoner American spelling, is said the same way and may be an unrelated English occupational surname for a charcoal burner.
Nicknames for Colman
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
- 1909
- Most boys named
- 199723 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1083reached in 1909
- Change vs 2023
- +14.3%8 in 2025, from 7
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.
Colman in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Colman in Irish — same name
- Coleman in English — spelling variant
- Columbanus in Latin — related form
Colmans among us
people named Colman are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 213,510 born in 2025 was named Colman
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Colman 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
Colman beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Colman in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Colm is available as a short form and is a name in its own right.
- The meaning is a single clear word with religious weight.
- Two syllables with a firm first-syllable stress.
- Coleman is far commoner in American use and has a different origin.
- It is very strongly identified with Ireland.
- The 1909 peak places it in the Irish immigrant generation.
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Colman
Masculine · #8910 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Colmans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Colman are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Colman in 2025?
- Colman ranks #8910 among US boy names in 2025, with 8 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Colman?
- About 1 in every 213,510 US boys born in 2025 was named Colman — 8 in all.
- Will my child share the name Colman with classmates?
- Colman will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Colman
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Davie#8910 · Ned#8910 · Darious#8910 · Alois#8910 · Len#8910 · Barton#8910 · Desmon#8910 · Winfield#8910
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Colman? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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