It's a very Irish-American name. It also gets a variety of pronunciations and spellings (depending on where in the US you live). I grew up a Colleen in Massachusetts, where the name was common enough for me to know several other Colleens growing up in the 70s/80s. I moved to NYC in the 90s and noticed that many Irish were disdainful of the name, which is never used in Ireland. My family pronounces it more like the Irish cailin, but I also hear it pronounced kol-LEEN and kah-LEEN and answer accordingly.
Yes, I have heard it pronounced kohl-een before, with a long 'o' sound; however, more often it is pronounced kahl-een.
― Anonymous User 6/22/2010
2
This is my aunt's name, and I never heard it pronounced other then COLE-leen. I'm not saying that this is the only, or even the most "proper" pronunciation of the name. However, it is a very common one on the west coast of the US.
― Anonymous User 4/12/2010
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Very frequently pronounced Coh-leen by people with an apparent inability to pronounce short o's. Not sure why it's such a widespread problem. I gently ask the offenders how they pronounce the word "college" until it dawns on them. It's been an uphill battle, but I've found that the people who actually end up in my life are always the ones that pronounced it correctly from the start, so oh well! :]
Actually, in the Irish language, the word "cailín" may be accented on either syllable depending on the dialect. It would be accented on the second syllable in Munster, but on the first in Connacht and Ulster.