Callum
Torn between Callum and another name? Compare them side by side →
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.
How popular is Callum around the world?
In the United States, 10,593 babies were named Callum between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 107 boys named Callum were born in 2025, the 49th most common name among boys that year.
Callum is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, South Australia, England and Wales, New Zealand and Spain.
United States
1 in 2,100
In the United States, 10,593 babies were named Callum between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Callum peaked in the 2020s. Callum went to 369 US babies in 2015 and 3,003 in 2025, 8.1 times as many.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 510
In Ireland, 107 boys named Callum were born in 2025, the 49th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
1 in 570
In Scotland, 80 boys named Callum were registered in 2024, the 62nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Canada
1 in 1,400
In Canada, 258 boys named Callum were born in 2024, the 122nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
South Australia
1 in 2,6002017
In South Australia, 7 boys were registered as Callum in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 3,100
In England and Wales, 186 boys named Callum were born in 2025, the 251st most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
New Zealand
1 in 4,400
In New Zealand, 13 boys named Callum were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Spain
1 in 2M
In Spain, 22 residents are named Callum, ranked 27,846th among men, with a mean age of 27.3 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Austria
last on record 2022
Callum is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Callum is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Not on the record in Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
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.
Keep exploring
Names like Callum · Nicknames for Callum · Climbers and fallers
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.
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 →