Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Colm?
Births per year, rank history and how many Colms are alive today.
Colm (male) is a shortened form of the name Malcolm. Although Colm itself was given to 3 babies in England and Wales in 2024 (ranked 5120th as a registered name), most Colms are registered as Malcolm, which ranked 1307th in 2025 with 21 babies.
Most people called Colm are registered as Malcolm, and share that name's profile: the Malcolm you are most likely to meet is around 73 years old. Half of all Malcolms born in England and Wales are between 61 and 79, and there are at least 66,000 of them alive today. Only some Malcolms go by Colm.
How many babies are named Colm or Malcolm each year?
Combined registrations of Malcolm, Colm. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Malcolm rank as a registered name?
Where does Colm rank as a registered name?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
Is Colm short for Malcolm?
Yes - Colm is a shortened form of Malcolm. Colms are usually registered as Malcolm at birth.
When was the name Colm most popular?
The full name Malcolm peaked in 1944, when around 3,100 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Colm itself peaked as a registered name in 1997, with 31 babies.
How many people are called Colm?
There's no official count of people who go by Colm, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 66,000 people registered as Malcolm born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Colm.
How old is the typical Colm?
Most people called Colm are registered as Malcolm. Most living Malcolms are between 61 and 79; the most common age is about 73.
Is Colm becoming more or less popular?
Well past its peak: today's figures are a fraction of the 1944 peak, though numbers have levelled off in recent years.