Cullen
Cullen was given to 194 boys in 2025, #1,108 among boys’ names; 16,703 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 15,200 Americans named Cullen and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (91% of everyone recorded); the median is 19 years old and half are between 11 and 31.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Cullen by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Cullen mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Cullen is “a male given name transferred from the surname.”
From Scottish Gaelic cuilinn.
/ˈkʌlən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Cullen?
#1,108 among boys’ names, 2025
Cullen fell from #570 in 2015 to #1,108 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.26 to 0.11 per 1,000.
685 babies in 2010, the peak
Cullen peaked in 2010, when 685 babies were given it (679 boys, #413 among boys’ names). The 200 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 29% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 194 | #1,108 | 0.11 |
| 2024 | 189 | #1,127 | 0.11 |
| 2023 | 219 | #1,003 | 0.13 |
| 2022 | 258 | #901 | 0.15 |
| 2021 | 342 | #745 | 0.20 |
| 2020 | 370 | #688 | 0.21 |
| 2019 | 411 | #650 | 0.23 |
| 2018 | 464 | #590 | 0.26 |
| 2017 | 556 | #519 | 0.30 |
| 2016 | 529 | #546 | 0.28 |
Every recorded year (129)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 492 | #570 | 0.26 |
| 2014 | 447 | #604 | 0.23 |
| 2013 | 447 | #575 | 0.24 |
| 2012 | 474 | #549 | 0.25 |
| 2011 | 568 | #472 | 0.30 |
| 2010 | 679 | #413 | 0.35 |
| 2009 | 562 | #485 | 0.28 |
| 2008 | 283 | #782 | 0.14 |
| 2007 | 286 | #768 | 0.14 |
| 2006 | 260 | #792 | 0.13 |
| 2005 | 278 | #728 | 0.14 |
| 2004 | 270 | #710 | 0.14 |
| 2003 | 284 | #682 | 0.14 |
| 2002 | 318 | #619 | 0.16 |
| 2001 | 336 | #593 | 0.17 |
| 2000 | 363 | #567 | 0.18 |
| 1999 | 353 | #564 | 0.18 |
| 1998 | 374 | #535 | 0.20 |
| 1997 | 405 | #505 | 0.21 |
| 1996 | 392 | #517 | 0.21 |
| 1995 | 400 | #509 | 0.21 |
| 1994 | 301 | #596 | 0.16 |
| 1993 | 337 | #552 | 0.17 |
| 1992 | 293 | #599 | 0.15 |
| 1991 | 198 | #716 | 0.10 |
| 1990 | 166 | #783 | 0.08 |
| 1989 | 177 | #742 | 0.09 |
| 1988 | 162 | #741 | 0.08 |
| 1987 | 146 | #757 | 0.08 |
| 1986 | 122 | #822 | 0.07 |
| 1985 | 100 | #908 | 0.05 |
| 1984 | 90 | #925 | 0.05 |
| 1983 | 97 | #893 | 0.05 |
| 1982 | 89 | #954 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 102 | #882 | 0.06 |
| 1980 | 98 | #906 | 0.05 |
| 1979 | 99 | #877 | 0.06 |
| 1978 | 77 | #983 | 0.05 |
| 1977 | 57 | #1,159 | 0.03 |
| 1976 | 72 | #981 | 0.05 |
| 1975 | 58 | #1,102 | 0.04 |
| 1974 | 77 | #926 | 0.05 |
| 1973 | 56 | #1,084 | 0.04 |
| 1972 | 36 | #1,422 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 53 | #1,129 | 0.03 |
| 1970 | 62 | #1,035 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 50 | #1,098 | 0.03 |
| 1968 | 39 | #1,220 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 26 | #1,515 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 27 | #1,484 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 21 | #1,730 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 33 | #1,372 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 23 | #1,666 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 31 | #1,405 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 34 | #1,372 | 0.02 |
| 1960 | 39 | #1,252 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 37 | #1,280 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 24 | #1,602 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 27 | #1,514 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 33 | #1,339 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 28 | #1,463 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 22 | #1,635 | 0.01 |
| 1953 | 22 | #1,641 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 17 | #1,874 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 23 | #1,559 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 17 | #1,831 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 20 | #1,674 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 23 | #1,525 | 0.01 |
| 1947 | 24 | #1,523 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 24 | #1,442 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 19 | #1,545 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 17 | #1,697 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 34 | #1,174 | 0.02 |
| 1942 | 19 | #1,639 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 31 | #1,192 | 0.03 |
| 1940 | 20 | #1,529 | 0.02 |
| 1939 | 21 | #1,462 | 0.02 |
| 1938 | 22 | #1,447 | 0.02 |
| 1937 | 20 | #1,541 | 0.02 |
| 1936 | 12 | #2,084 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 28 | #1,275 | 0.03 |
| 1934 | 24 | #1,394 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 28 | #1,252 | 0.03 |
| 1932 | 20 | #1,599 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 25 | #1,402 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 26 | #1,437 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 21 | #1,625 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 28 | #1,391 | 0.03 |
| 1927 | 32 | #1,300 | 0.03 |
| 1926 | 34 | #1,246 | 0.03 |
| 1925 | 37 | #1,168 | 0.03 |
| 1924 | 29 | #1,387 | 0.03 |
| 1923 | 21 | #1,706 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 39 | #1,146 | 0.04 |
| 1921 | 42 | #1,091 | 0.04 |
| 1920 | 25 | #1,512 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 29 | #1,329 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 34 | #1,198 | 0.03 |
| 1917 | 28 | #1,299 | 0.03 |
| 1916 | 30 | #1,214 | 0.03 |
| 1915 | 35 | #1,089 | 0.04 |
| 1914 | 27 | #1,106 | 0.04 |
| 1913 | 21 | #1,119 | 0.04 |
| 1912 | 17 | #1,143 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 12 | #995 | 0.05 |
| 1910 | 10 | #1,058 | 0.05 |
| 1907 | 8 | #1,017 | 0.05 |
| 1905 | 9 | #852 | 0.07 |
| 1904 | 5 | #1,248 | 0.04 |
| 1903 | 6 | #1,036 | 0.05 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,086 | 0.05 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,084 | 0.05 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,132 | 0.04 |
| 1895 | 7 | #897 | 0.06 |
| 1894 | 7 | #880 | 0.06 |
| 1891 | 5 | #1,001 | 0.05 |
| 1887 | 5 | #960 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 6 | #815 | 0.06 |
| 1880 | 9 | #645 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Cullen a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Cullen has been given almost only to boys: 112 girls in 129 years of records.
Girls and boys named Cullen: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Cullen, and how old are they?
15,200 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 91% of the 16,703 Americans ever recorded as Cullen. The median Cullen alive today is 19 years old; half are between 11 and 31.
The 2020 Census counted 13,202 people named Cullen (177 women and girls, 13,025 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 13,987 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 78 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 338 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 821 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 3,070 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 6,040 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,900 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Cullen born?
The states with the most babies named Cullen are Texas, North Carolina and Louisiana, with 30% of its births recorded by state in 2025; Louisiana is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 17 | #1,224 | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 17 | #573 | 1.1× |
| Louisiana | 10 | #460 | 2.9× |
| Minnesota | 10 | #526 | 2.3× |
| Ohio | 9 | #875 | 0.7× |
| Virginia | 8 | #818 | 1.3× |
| Georgia | 8 | #1,013 | 1.0× |
| Alabama | 8 | #585 | 0.9× |
| Florida | 7 | #1,506 | 0.6× |
| Indiana | 7 | #792 | 0.5× |
Where Cullen is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Cullen is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 2.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Cullen with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 18,225 babies since 1880, Cullen is the most given (92% of them). In 2025 it was given to 200 of their 214 babies (93%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Cullen
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Cullen and names like it
- Compare Cullen and KullenBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sCullen peaked in 2010.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Cullen since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Cullen: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2010The year the most babies were named Cullen.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Cullen alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with CMost given first.