She’s as kelly green as a shamrock, but trends have left her behind.
Thanks to Colleen for suggesting her own appellation as Baby Name of the Day.
Once upon a time, the Murphys and the O’Haras and the Connellys celebrated their heritage by naming their boys Patrick or Brian or Michael and their girls Erin or Kelly or Colleen. Many times – like in Colleen’s case – the choices embraced by Irish Americans would have been foreign in the Emerald Isle.
Today those same families might opt for a gender neutral surname, like Riley or Delaney. But others are discovering more traditional Gaelic monikers, like Ailis and Maeve, Siobhan and Niamh. They come with their own challenges – chiefly related to spelling and pronunciation – but certainly carry more of a genuine Irish style.
So what of 20th century stand-bys like Colleen?
Colleen first appeared in the US in the early 20th century. Silent film star Colleen Moore was born Kathleen Morrison. It’s not clear how she chose her stage name, but Moore certainly helped popularize Colleen. Her first film was in 1917; her big break was a few years later, as Little Orphant Annie, the original film adaptation of the poem.
Moore retired rather than transitioning to talkies, but stayed in the spotlight, thanks to her passion for dollhouses. Her most elaborate work, Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle, remains a popular display at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. Miniature portraits by Walt Disney, real Royal Doulton china and the world’s tiniest Bible are all part of the dollhouse. In the 1930s, Moore took her masterwork on a national tour to raise money for children’s charities. (You can tour it online here.)
Moore’s stage name comes from the Irish cailín – girl. Colleen was in sparing use before the star’s rise to fame, and she appeared in the US Top 1000 every year from 1920 until 2006.
The next notable Colleen was another actress, Nebraska farm girl Doris Jensen. As Coleen Gray, she made a number of notable films in the 1940s. Other bearers include:
- Tony- and Emmy-winning actress Colleen Dewhurst;
- Australian author Colleen McCullogh, known for her 1977 bestseller, The Thorn Birds;
- Soap opera staple Colleen Dion, best known as Felicia on The Bold and the Beautiful;
- Fictional Colleen Cecile Carlton, was a character on The Young and the Restless;
- Colleen Gavin is Tommy’s troubled daughter on FX’s Rescue Me.
Colleen was a Top 100 choice from 1963 to 1967, so it isn’t surprising that she sounds somewhat dated circa 2010. But her sound works against her, too. The once mighty Kathleen is at her lowest point in a century, while Kaitlyn and company are at their heights of popularity.
Other -een names once in favor include:
- Arlene, Charlene, Darlene and Marlene - though at least Marlene could’ve been pronounced Marlena;
- Irene, Eileen;
- Doreen, Maureen;
- Earlene, Lorene;
- Christine.
A few of those are still holding on today, and new entrants like Jaylene and Jazlene are sometimes heard.
Today most Colleens are driving carpools, but she remains an open, friendly and far less dated choice than most of the -een names.
If you’re searching for a frills-free, familiar but not often used name for a daughter, Colleen might work. She’s perfectly ordinary, and yet your child will never have to share.
Colleen is refreshingly retro. To me, many of the others are just tacky.
Thanks for discussing my name! I absolutely love it and would hate to see it disappear forever. You don’t get more feminine than a name that means girl. There are lots of Irish songs about sweet colleens and when I visited Ireland, many were sung to me. : ) However, my name is misspelled constantly and the pronunciations vary. Despite this and the out of date vibe, I think we’ll see it rise in popularity again… someday.
Colleen,
I so agree with you. At least when you hear our name, you know it’s a girls name. No questions asked. And I also agree, that I think it will make a comeback, because the 60′s retro stuff is in the stores, so name will probably be used too.
It’s always fun to talk to another Colleen. By the way, how do you pronounce yours. Mine’s with a long “O”.
Colleen
from Washington State.
The name reminds me of the time I got the weirdest wrong number. Somebody from Texas called me, screaming on top of their lungs: COLLEEN!!! COLLEEN!! COLLEEN!! several times, only, they were pronounced it (kal-LEEN). Finally they said in a normal voice: “Is this Colleen?”
I find the name to be a bit too country, despite its Irish roots and very dated. Plus, it still reminds me of the drunken person with the southern drawl who called me that night.
Speaking of borrowing random words from a language to honour your heritage, I wonder if I can use Dziewczyna (girl) or Polska (Poland) to honour my Polish roots? My guess is that not unless I was a celebrity could I ever get away with using those as names. I wonder how the Irish-Americans got away with using names like Erin and Colleen? Is it because they were easy for non-Irish Americans to pronounce? I never understood why some Irish-American parents will not use traditional Irish names instead. Many of the Irish-Americans in my neck of the woods seemed to have favored place names or masculine surnames on females like Shannon, Kelly, Erin and now Riley. At least most Rileys I have been meeting seem to come from Irish background. This is more true with the 1970s-80s babies. In recent years, more traditional, and even the more difficult to pronounce choices, seem to becoming more common. Like Maeve, and there are a few Aislings in my one tiny enclave of a neighborhood, which I think is exciting to see.
It’s not for me. I’m not a fan of the -een ending in general. Plus it’s seriously lacking in nns (with the only nice one I can think of: Cleo, but it is a stretch and the most obvious shortened version, Collie, seems an insult more than a nn). No nns is a big drawback in my world. Finally, the pronunciation that many use kuh-LEEN (barely giving the first syllable any weight) is not very pretty in my ear… even the more even-emphasized call-EEN or caul-EEN are not that wonderful for me… I can respect it as a heritage choice, but for my tastes, I prefer countless other names that harken back to the emerald isle.
I’m not even sure I know how to pronounce this one, although it is a familiar name. It does sound dated to me – and not in a cool antique retro way. Probably means it will sound fresh again one day.
I can’t say I’m too fond of Colleen (Kahl-LEEN in my world), but it is okay. I really like Irene (its growing on me) and I know a wee baby Eileen (she was named after her great-grandmother). I think Irene might be on it’s way back. I’m not sure about Eileen or Colleen, though.
Colleen’s a total guilty pleasure for me, mostly because of Colleen Dewhurst.
I think the -een names will come back in the next decade or so, besides the 100-year-rule, it’s a natural progression from the -line names to the -leen’s. Locally there was a birth announcement for an Abileen, but that may be a bit of ahead of the curve.
i might be biased because it is my name, but i LOVE Colleen. i am 27 years old and most of the Colleen’s that i know are also in their mid 20′s so it is weird to me that people are saying that it is dated.
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