I have a friend named Cullen, born before Twillight was a thing. I don't care for the name itself because it sounds kinda dull. I also don't like how he is often mistaken for a Collin.
My little brother's name is Cullen. We called him Cully when he was a little kid. Now that he's an adult, people call him Cull. People seem to have a hard time pronouncing Cullen (CULL-in with the "u" sounding like "uh") which has always confused me because it's so simple in my opinion. People usually call him Colin or even colon (like the organ!). Growing up he had friends that called him Colin or Callin even though they had been corrected numerous times. Cullen suits my brother very well. He's very tall and lanky, he has long brown hair and brown eyes. I obviously don't think he's attractive because he's my brother but my friends always had crushes on him when we were growing up. He's extremely outgoing and sociable. He's kind, generous and sensitive but he can also be reckless and careless. He's charismatic and he's always been an extremely charming kid. I think Cullen is great name, it's classic sounding but also unique enough to be noticed. Twilight (the Cullen family) did make the name a bit more mainstream but I still think its quite different.
William Cullen Bryant -Famous Poet William Bryant Cullen - co founder of Glendora, CA, Citrus College; and one of the main reasons California is known for its citrus fruits, as he helped cultivate most of the orchards.
Although this name may have been used far before the Twilight explosion, its association to that franchise is still profound and it will be for a long time. I don't care for this name but I do admit that it is exceedingly better as a surname.
― Anonymous User 3/12/2017
0
Cullen is too weird sounding in my opinion. I think of sullen when I see it.
The first time I heard the name Cullen was in Dragon Age (video game.) and I think it's a manly and strong name for a little boy as well as for a grown man.
Cullen is a common surname still where it originated in eastern Ireland. Translations such as 'handsome', 'cub', or that it comes from the Gaelic for 'holy one' or the city of Cologne all appear on different websites for baby names. The name actually comes from the Irish language name for the holly tree cuileann'. This was a sacred plant in ancient Celtic times. For those who chose it as a baby name thinking it meant handsome... hopefully they aren't too disappointed. It is not used as a first name traditionally here in Ireland and the reason for the incorrect translation of 'handsome' may come from confusion with the similar sounding Scottish first name 'Colin'.
It's the name of the vigilante character on the AMC show "Hell on Wheels". Hopefully this will help others forget the crap about glimmering vampires. It disgusts me that such filth could be considered literature but, I digress.
Cullen Andrew Jones is an American swimmer and Olympic gold medalist.
― Anonymous User 8/7/2012
1
I love this name! A friend of mine is named Cullen (which means 'handsome' by the way, and he is extremely handsome :D) I'm not too happy about the Twilight association, but try to ignore it. People rarely mention it to my friend Cullen, however.
I fell in love the name Cullen a few years ago while helping my (then) boyfriend research his family history. I think it's a wonderful alternative to the now overused 'Collin'. I would still consider using it if I had a son.
I LOVE this name! And I hope the Twilight craze dies down so I can at least have it on my list, and people not think I only like it because of Twilight :(
― Anonymous User 12/9/2010
2
I named my son CULLEN in 2004. While I do hate the Twilight connection those things come and go. I love the name. We call him "Culley" as a nickname. Not as many people mispronounce it as I had originally feared. He's a blond haired blue eyed little Irish boy. It suits him perfectly.
― Anonymous User 6/14/2010
2
I think we all agree that the Twilight stigma is a rather unfortunate association, but seeing as this is also the name of my cousin I bear no hard feelings against it. As a matter of fact, if I weren't so afraid of imposing his image onto it, I would definitely use this name for a character.
The boy's name Cullen \c(ul)-len\ is pronounced KULL-en. It is of Irish and Gaelic origin, and its meaning is "good-looking lad; handsome". Poet William Cullen Bryant.Cullen has 3 variant forms: Cullan, Cullin and Cullinan.
― Anonymous User 5/26/2010
1
It kills me that I named my son Cullen years before the #$#@ Twilight books came out. Oh well, Hopefully the vampire connection will soon be forgotten.
Ugh! If it weren't for stupid Twilight, this would be a *great* name. Alas. Eh. Maybe it'll be forgotten in about 10 years, and I can use it without being connected to glittering vampires.
― Anonymous User 3/11/2010
2
I hate Stephanie Meyer for ruining this good Gaelic name! Bealtaine h biotáille ag fulaingt go deo!
― Anonymous User 12/30/2009
1
I know someone who spells this 'Cullin'. It's a nice name, but it's connection with Twilight kinda ruins it.
The Twilight series ruined me on the name. On its own, it's very nice, but I'd feel bad for anyone who has it.
― Anonymous User 2/19/2009
1
I love this name, it's different without being strange. It's one of my best friend's names, and people very rarely pronounce it right unless they know him. Though I don't see how anyone could possibly get an O sound out of the U to make it Collin, they do, so be prepared for your child to never have their name pronounced right.Unless Twilight takes over the world as it has been and suddenly everyone can say it.
Cullen Jones is an Olympic swimmer who won a gold medal in 2008 beating the French in what was one of (if not the most) amazing relay in swimming history. Cullen is also the 2nd African American swimmer to medal at the games.
― Anonymous User 8/10/2008
1
I like this strong, masculine name. It hasn't majorly caught on in the U.S. yet but when it does it will probably skyrocket.
"Cullen" is also a surname. The most recent usage of the name as such is seen in Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. A family, the Cullens, play a major role. I believe that as a surname it means, "down by the river". As a first name it's supposed to mean "handsome".
If you're looking for a strong boy's name that flows off the tongue, yet is unusual enough that every other little boy won't be named it, Cullen is a wonderful choice. Be prepared however for people to think you are just respelling the more popular 'Colin'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cullen_(mathematician)
The sequence of Cullen numbers (n*2^n+1) [first 5 terms are 3, 9, 25, 65, and 161] was named after him.