Colt
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Meaning
young horse
The story
Colt is the young horse, one syllable of pure western, and its record contains one of the sharpest datable jumps we track: about 140 in the 1970s became 2,100 in the 1980s, fifteen times over, the exact years a stuntman named Colt Seavers fell off buildings weekly on American television. Decade buckets point, they do not convict. The name then held between about 2,200 and 3,000 for two decades before the modern western wave, the one that lifted Stetson and Wilder, carried it to about 11,700 in the 2010s, with 8,600 so far this decade, every single one a boy. In our records the count runs about 27,900 boys to 11 girls. There is a firearms brand in the shadow, as with Remington, and the record cannot say which associations families carry. What it can say: the horse is young, and has been for forty years.
How popular is Colt around the world?
In the United States, 8,603 babies were named Colt between 2020 and 2025.
Colt is on the official records of the United States, Canada, South Australia and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 2,500
In the United States, 8,603 babies were named Colt between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Colt peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 5,200
In Canada, 70 boys named Colt were born in 2024, the 445th 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 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Colt in 2017.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
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 45,000
In England and Wales, 13 boys named Colt were born in 2025, ranked 1,897th 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
Ireland
last on record 2023
Colt is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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
last on record 2023
Colt is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, New Zealand 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 the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). 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 Colt
Most people given the name Colt 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
The Colt deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Colt 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 Colt fits with your family’s names and surname.
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