Cullen
Masculine
Cullen is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 16,591 boys against 112 girls since 1880.
Cullen began as an Irish family name — one of those surnames built on the holly tree, which Irish poets counted among the noble woods. It crossed to America with Irish families in the nineteenth century as a surname, then stepped forward into first-name use the way Riley and Quinn later did. Two beats, both short, and it spells itself the moment it is said aloud.
How old is the name Cullen?
Cullen was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Cullen alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 15,000 people named Cullen are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Cullen most popular?
Cullen peaked in 2010, reaching #413 nationally. Today it ranks #1108, 695 places below that high. See the whole 2010 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From cuileann (Irish: holly) to Cullen
The story of Cullen
Cullen is an anglicization of Irish surnames — chiefly Ó Cuilinn and Ó Cuileannáin — recorded in Munster and mid-Ireland long before it was ever given to a baby as a first name. Irish emigration carried it into American records in the nineteenth century, where it sat for generations as a family name before joining the broad surname-as-first-name movement. Its sharpest lift came with Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels and the films made from them, where Cullen is the vampire family's surname; the name's rise and gentle retreat since then follow that story closely. It remains strongest in Texas, Louisiana and the Carolinas, where Irish and Scots-Irish surnames have long been recycled as given names.
Meaningscholars disagree
Most often traced to Irish cuileann, "holly"
The main reading takes it from Ó Cuilinn or Ó Cuileannáin, Irish surnames built on cuileann, "holly" — Cuileannán being a personal name from the same root. A second route is geographic: Cullen is also a coastal town in Moray, Scotland, and a place name in Ireland, so some bearers carry it from a place rather than a plant. A third strand crosses over from Ó Coileáin, "young hound," which more usually became Collins.
How the name formed
- cuileannIrish: holly
- Cuileannán
- Ó Cuilinn / Ó Cuileannáin
- Cullen
Related forms: Ó Cuilinn · Ó Cuileannáin · Cullinane · Culhane · McCullen · Cullan
Pronouncing Cullen
KUL-in
Two syllables, stress on the first. Rhymes with sullen. Expect occasional confusion with Colin and Collin in speech, since the vowels land close together.
Nicknames for Cullen
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 2009562 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #413reached in 2010
- Change vs 2022
- −24.8%194 in 2025, from 258
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.
Cullen in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ó Cuilinn in Irish — same name
- Ó Cuileannáin in Irish — related form
- Cullinane in English (Ireland) — related form
- Culhane in English (Ireland) — related form
- McCullen in English — related form
- Cullan in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina.
Cullens among us
people named Cullen are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 8,805 born in 2025 was named Cullen
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Rollin test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Cullen's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Rollin climbed just as high around 1903, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Rollin's path sketches the road Cullen is walking now.
Cullen 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 Cullen is headed
Cullen is easing off slowly — about 29% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
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.
Cullen beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Cullen in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Phonetic on sight: nearly everyone reads and spells it correctly the first time, which is rare for an Irish-derived name.
- A documented Irish surname with centuries of use behind it, so it carries real family history rather than a recent invention.
- Rare enough in classrooms that a last initial is unlikely to be needed, while still sounding entirely familiar.
- Fits the established surname-as-first-name pattern alongside names like Quinn and Riley, so it never needs explaining.
- The Twilight connection is the reason the name climbed, and readers of that generation will hear it. That association is fading, but it may draw a comment or two for now.
- The first syllable is also the word cull, which some parents notice and others never do. Said aloud in full, it rarely registers.
- Short forms are thin on the ground — Cully is about the only one in real use — so the name will usually be said in full.
- It is much better known in the South than in some other regions, so recognition may vary depending on where the child grows up.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Cullen to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Cullen? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Cullen
Masculine · #1108 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Cullens are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 15,000 people named Cullen are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Cullen in 2025?
- Cullen ranks #1108 among US boy names in 2025, with 194 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Cullen?
- About 1 in every 8,805 US boys born in 2025 was named Cullen — 194 in all.
- Will my child share the name Cullen with classmates?
- Cullen will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Cullen
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Thatcher#1108 · Kanan#1108 · Psalm#1108 · Sami#1112 · Cashton#1112 · Justice#1112 · Terry#1115 · Kase#1115
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Cullen? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Cullen and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle