Name of the Week

Cosy and comfy Colin has gone from Scottish nobility
to being the epitomy of a humble country labourer.
Now it has a dash of heartthrob thanks to Mr Firth and Mr Farrell.

 

Origin:

Colin derives from two different sources, both as an English name and a Scottish. 1. In England, Colin was originally coined in the Middle Ages, when the common suffix -in was added to Col, the standard medieval pet-form of Nicholas. 2. In Scotland, Colin was used as an Anglicised form of the Gaelic Cuilén (later Cailean) meaning "whelp, young pup." It is often cited as meaning "youth" or "young warrior" by extension, as it is believed that Cuilén was used as a byname for a young trainee warrior. Much, perhaps, like "Sonny Jim" or "Kid" might be used today.

Usage:

In both Scotland and Ireland, Cuilén has been in use since at least the 10th century. One of the earliest bearers was Cuilén mac Ildulb, king of Alba from 967 to 971. Several notable Scottish figures bore the name from the 13th century onwards including several noblemen and abbots. It was particularly prevalent among the Campbell Clan, who later became the earls of Argyll. It continued as a favourite of Scottish nobility right up to the 20th century.  In England, Colin can be found in records from the 12th century, sometimes latinised as Colinus. In some records, Colin was interchanged with Nicholas, showing that, at this time, it was still very much a diminutive form. Reaney and Wilson point out that the 1207 pipe roll record in Suffolk of Colinus Harrengod, is the same man as the Nicholaus Harengot that was listed the year before. Nicholas itself was among the top fifteen most popular names of the 13th century, explaining the prevalence of Colin in early records and the rise of several derivative surnames such as Collin, Colen, Colins, Collins and Collinson. During this time, Nicholas was also occasionally used for girls; in their case Colett (Col-et rather than Col-in) or Colina was used as a feminine diminutive.  By the 16th century in England Colin was a familiar name for a country labourer, and was commonly used as such in pastoral verse. One prime example is Spencer's character Colin Clout, the shepherd of his first major poetic work The Shepheardes Calender (1579). The character himself was based directly on John Skelton's work Colyn Cloute, in which the protagonist represents the "average man". Christopher Smart later used the same name in The Hop-Garden (1752) to denote a hop-picker with ambition.  Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the name seems to have declined somewhat in England from the 16th to 18th century, though the Scottish Colin remained in good use in Scotland during this period. In some cases Colin (or Colleann) was registered for girls as well as boys.  At the beginning of the 19th century, Colin was still common in Scotland, but much less so in England. By the end of the century Colin was once again revived in England, most likely thanks to the Scottish name's influence.  The 1841 UK census listed 2,843 males named Colin (or Collin); 2,519 in Scotland and 315 in England. There were 3,385 (2,552 in Scotland, 790 in England) by 1861, 4,641 (3,042 in Scotland, 1,555 in England) in 1881 and 7,721 (3,606 in Scotland, 3,988 in England) in 1900, showing clearly how consistently popular the name remained in Scotland, and progressively rose in usage in England. Colin remained highly popular in Scotland throughout the 20th century. In 1900 it ranked #42, rising to #23 in 1950 and #18 in 1975. Since 2005, Colin has had a birth count of between 21 and 15 in Scotland, peaking at #197 in 2007.  In 1880, Colin ranked #191 in England and Wales. It rose to #132 in 1890 and #120 in 1900. By 1904 it had broken into the Top 100 at #96, rising to #82 in 1914 and #61 in 1924. It rose dramatically to #26 in 1934 and peaked at #15 in 1944. It was still very popular in 1954 when it ranked #22, and #25 in 1964. It fell to #44 by 1974 and #67 in 1984, after which it fell out of the Top 100. Since 1996, Colin has had a birth count of between 79 and 38 in England and Wales, peaking at #311 in 1997.  In 2012, Colin ranked #261 (16 births) in Scotland and #754 (43 births) in England and Wales.

Famous Bearers:

History:  * Cuilén mac Ildulb (d.971), King of Alba from 967 to 971.  * Cailean Mór Caimbeul "Sir Colin Campbell" (d.c.1296), major ancestral figure of the Clan Campbell and Earls of Argyll. * Colin Maclaurin (1698–1746), Scottish mathematician who made important contributions to geometry and algebra. * Colin Campbell, Baron Clyde (1792–1863), British general who led the Highland Brigade in the Crimean War. * Colin Archer (1832–1921), Norwegian naval architect and shipbuilder. Contemporary:  * Colin Baker (b.1943), British actor, best known as the 6th Doctor Who. * Colin Matthews, OBE (b.1946), English composer.  * Colin Firth (b.1960), British actor. * Colin Farrell (b.1976), Irish actor.  Literature and Other Media: * Colin Clout, a character in The Shepheardes Calender (1579) by Edmund Spencer. * Colin the Vet, character in The Beano comic.

Variants:

Cailean, Cuilén (Gaelic), Collin

Pronunciation:

COLL-in [key]

Possible diminutives:

Cole, Coll, Colly

Sibling Names:

Nora     Gwyneth     Maura     Louise     Jean     Heather  Jonathan     Malcolm     Gavin     Robin    Giles     Andrew

Name Lists:

Cosy Celtic    Resurrected Retro

 

If you like Colin you may also like:   Virgil, Martin, Douglas, Francis, Colm, Graham, David, Marvin, Fraser, Leonard

 

Thanks to NL for requesting Colin.