Callum
The story
Callum is the Scottish everyday form of Columba, the Latin for dove, the name of the sixth-century saint who carried Christianity from Ireland to Iona. Britain has loved it for decades; America is only now catching up, and the record shows a clean import curve: about 40 boys in the 1980s, 420 in the 1990s, 1,300 in the 2000s, 3,700 in the 2010s, and already 10,600 so far this decade, nearly triple the full 2010s with years still to run. It rides the same transatlantic current that carried Freya and Evie, names Britain proved first. In our records it is a boys' name outright, about 16,100 to 38. The double L gives it softness, the saint gives it depth, and the dove underneath makes it one of the gentlest meanings a boys' name carries in this range.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Callum peaked in the 2020s.
When you meet Callum
Most people given the name Callum in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Callum deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Callum truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Callum fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Does Callum fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Callum to your family’s tree →