Fun Facts About the Name Callum
- More than 16 thousand babies named Callum: U.S. records list 16,079 babies given the name Callum from 1880 through 2025. Even 38 girls received the name Callum - about 1 girl for every 422 boys.
What Does the Name Callum Mean?
Callum is an English spelling of the Scottish Gaelic name Calum, which means "dove." The Gaelic name goes back to Old Irish colum, a borrowing of Latin columba, "dove." The same Latin word stands behind the name Columba, the English form used for the Irish saint whose Gaelic name was Colum Cille, commonly explained as "dove of the church" (from cille, "church"). The literal sense of Callum is simply the bird, the dove; the religious coloring of the name comes from its association with that saint, not from the word itself.
Callum Name History & Origins
The name came into Scotland through the Gaelic-speaking world of the Irish Sea, where Colum was an established personal name. Its best-known bearer was Saint Columba, born in Ireland in the sixth century, who founded the monastery on Iona off the Scottish coast in 563. Devotion to him carried the name through Ireland and Scotland, and the Gaelic form Calum took hold in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Callum is an anglicized rendering of that Gaelic form, written with an a in the second syllable rather than the o of the older Colum. The name was long common in Scotland before it spread to England and to other English-speaking countries.
How Popular is the Name Callum?
Callum recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2025. Its best rank was #118 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #11,126 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2024 | #15,678 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2023 | #9,092 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #13,917 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2021 | #11,312 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #118 | 2,995 | 0.1753% |
| 2024 | #159 | 2,258 | 0.1316% |
| 2023 | #222 | 1,643 | 0.0962% |
| 2022 | #249 | 1,417 | 0.0812% |
| 2021 | #273 | 1,264 | 0.0723% |
| 2020 | #336 | 967 | 0.0561% |
| 2019 | #448 | 671 | 0.0374% |
| 2018 | #558 | 493 | 0.0272% |
| 2017 | #609 | 433 | 0.0234% |
| 2016 | #706 | 349 | 0.0184% |
| 2015 | #685 | 369 | 0.0193% |
| 2014 | #732 | 327 | 0.0170% |
| 2013 | #781 | 287 | 0.0152% |
| 2012 | #807 | 275 | 0.0145% |
| 2011 | #846 | 253 | 0.0133% |
| 2010 | #847 | 250 | 0.0130% |
| 2009 | #879 | 240 | 0.0121% |
| 2008 | #974 | 205 | 0.0100% |
| 2007 | #1,091 | 168 | 0.0081% |
| 2006 | #1,187 | 142 | 0.0069% |
| 2005 | #1,415 | 104 | 0.0052% |
| 2004 | #1,375 | 105 | 0.0053% |
| 2003 | #1,269 | 112 | 0.0057% |
| 2002 | #1,514 | 82 | 0.0042% |
| 2001 | #1,432 | 87 | 0.0045% |
| 2000 | #1,515 | 79 | 0.0040% |
| 1999 | #1,533 | 73 | 0.0038% |
| 1998 | #1,742 | 58 | 0.0030% |
| 1997 | #1,551 | 66 | 0.0035% |
| 1996 | #1,500 | 67 | 0.0035% |
| 1995 | #1,842 | 47 | 0.0025% |
| 1994 | #2,089 | 39 | 0.0020% |
| 1993 | #3,383 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1992 | #2,850 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 1991 | #3,481 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 1990 | #4,705 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1989 | #5,704 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1988 | #6,533 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #5,557 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1986 | #4,910 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1985 | #6,662 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #6,446 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #5,585 | 6 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Callum Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are cheerful and friendly, but are apt to have an emotional life. You like to have several lines of effort going at once. You are a good talker and promoter and seldom worry over anything. At times, you can be impatient, and impulsive. You have the ability to bring an idea to completion. You can express yourself joyously and constructively. You might be psychic, but not know it. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Callum's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Callum's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.