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Baby Names:

Colin

Meaning: Cub; people’s victor

Origin: Celtic; Greek

Alternate spellings: Collin, Colyn

Colin is a Celtic name and also has roots in the name Nicholas. The dual origins give it two appealing meanings – “cub” and “people’s victor” – making it friendly and fierce at the same time. Colin was popular during the Middle Ages and again beginning in the 1800s. It wasn’t until the 1930s that Colin became a regular on the name charts in the U.S. It broke into the top 200 in the early 1980s and remains there today, along with the Collin spelling. It’s not too popular or too old-fashioned, making it a good pick if you like names that everyone knows, but that haven’t been overused.