Irish girl name
Colleen Name Meaning, Origin & Pronunciation
Colleen means girl. From Irish cailín, meaning girl.
Colleen comes from the Irish word cailín, meaning a girl, and it was used in English for any Irish girl before becoming a given name. It grew popular in the United States and Australia in the twentieth century, often among families with Irish roots. In Ireland itself Cailín is the word for a girl, so Colleen can sound like an English version of an ordinary word. It is easy to say and recognised everywhere.
Pronunciation by a native speaker.
How to pronounce Colleen
KOL·een
Colleen has 2 syllables. The stress falls on the first syllable (shown in bold). Say it as written in the respelling, with each capitalised part spoken a little louder.
Why the spelling looks different from the sound
- Welsh letters: In Welsh, "ll" is a breathy "hl", "ff" is an English F, "dd" is a soft English "th" as in "this", "w" can be a vowel (as in "oo"), and "rh" is a breathy R.
More on silent letters · Irish names people mispronounce.
Irish, Welsh and Gaelic dialects differ from region to region, so you may hear more than one correct version.
Variants of Colleen
ColeenColeneColineCailín
Well-known people named Colleen
Colleen Hoover, Colleen McCullough.
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Colleen mean?
Colleen means "girl". From Irish cailín, meaning girl.
How do you pronounce Colleen?
Colleen is pronounced KOL-een.
What is the origin of Colleen?
Colleen is an Irish girl name. In Irish it is written Cailín.
How many syllables are in Colleen?
Colleen has 2 syllables, with the stress on the first one.
Why is Colleen spelled the way it is?
The spelling follows Irish spelling conventions rather than English ones. In Welsh, "ll" is a breathy "hl", "ff" is an English F, "dd" is a soft English "th" as in "this", "w" can be a vowel (as in "oo"), and "rh" is a breathy R.
What are other spellings of Colleen?
Other spellings and forms include Coleen, Colene, Coline, Cailín.