How common is the surname Cullen?

20,000 people in the United States had the surname Cullen in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 15,437 Americans. It ranked 1,796th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Cullen?

In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named Cullen identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Cullen?

Brett Cullen, American actor (born 1956), followed by Tom Cullen.

Where is the surname Cullen most common?

Wikidata records people named Cullen in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 1 other country.

How do you pronounce Cullen?

Cullen is /ˈkʌlən/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Cullen getting more or less common?

More common. 19,665 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 20,000 in 2010, up 1.7%.

Is Cullen also a first name?

Yes. Cullen is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Cullen

An Irish surname, carried by 20,000 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈkʌlən/ 2 syllables Soundex C450 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Cullen is more common than 98.9% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

From Scottish Gaelic cuilinn.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 20,000 people named Cullen in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 15,437 Americans. That is up 1.7% since 2000, when the Census counted 19,665.

#1,796

rank among US surnames

20,000

people in 2010

6.8

per 100,000 Americans

+1.7%

change since 2000 (was #1,665)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,787	Hightower	20,065	15,387
#1,789	Paige	20,063	15,389
#1,790	Urban	20,058	15,393
#1,791	Boucher	20,050	15,399
#1,792	Fontenot	20,035	15,410
#1,793	Washburn	20,030	15,414
#1,794	Farr	20,011	15,429

Who is named Cullen

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

93% of people named Cullen identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.9% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 93%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Two or more races 1.9%
Black (not Hispanic) 1.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Cullens

11 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Brett Cullen
American actor (born 1956)
Tom Cullen
British actor, born 1985
Countee Cullen
American author (1903–1946)
Matt Cullen
American ice hockey player, born 1976
Heidi Cullen
American climatologist, born 1971
Edward Peter Cullen
Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, titular Bishop of Paria in Proconsolare, Bishop of Allen, 1933–2023
Max Cullen
Australian actor, born 1940
Katharine Cullen
Australian actress, born 1975
Mark Cullen
American ice hockey player, born 1978
Dan Cullen
Australian cricketer, born 1984
Susan, Crown Princess of Albania
Albanian Royal (1941–2004)

Notable Cullens come mostly from the United States (6), Australia (3) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Cullen

Cullen has the Soundex code C450, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C450.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Cullen come from?: From Scottish Gaelic cuilinn.
How common is the surname Cullen?: 20,000 people in the United States had the surname Cullen in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 15,437 Americans. It ranked 1,796th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Cullen?: In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named Cullen identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Cullen?: Brett Cullen, American actor (born 1956), followed by Tom Cullen.
Where is the surname Cullen most common?: Wikidata records people named Cullen in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 1 other country.
How do you pronounce Cullen?: Cullen is /ˈkʌlən/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Cullen getting more or less common?: More common. 19,665 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 20,000 in 2010, up 1.7%.
Is Cullen also a first name?: Yes. Cullen is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.