Holding steady.
Popularity of Koleen since 1949
Babies named Koleen per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 5 |
| 1950s | 78 |
| 1960s | 89 |
| 1970s | 45 |
| 1980s | 11 |
| 1990s | 5 |
| 2000s | 0 |
| 2010s | 0 |
| 2020s | 0 |
Meaning & origin
Koleen entered U.S. naming records in 1949, a time when parents increasingly experimented with spelling variations of familiar names. Its peak year was 1959, the same decade the name Colleen reached its highest popularity. Though Koleen never cracked the top 1,000, its trajectory has remained remarkably stable, with a small but consistent number of newborns receiving the name each year. The absence of top states in the data suggests that usage is scattered rather than concentrated regionally. For those drawn to the sound of Colleen but wanting something distinctive, Koleen offers a unique middle ground between tradition and individuality.
Koleen first appeared in U.S. records in 1949, a period when creative respellings of established names were fashionable. It is likely a phonetic variant of Colleen, an Anglicized form of the Irish cailín ('girl'), or a diminutive of Colette, the French feminine form of Nicholas. The name saw modest use in the 1950s and 1960s, peaking in 1959, and has remained rare since.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Kole, Lee, Koko
Sibling names for Koleen
Names that share Koleen's style, for a brother or sister.
