Corby
A diminutive form of the surname Corbet meaning "little raven".
Name Census estimates that about 1,453 living Americans carry the first name Corby. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 81.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Corby today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Corby births was 1973 (64 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Corby. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 235,894 Americans
Peak year
1973
64 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2021 SSA rank
#11,384
Tracked since 1922
Gender
Gender distribution for Corby
Corby leans heavily male at 81.7% of total registrations, but 303 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Corby as a male name
- Ranked #12,495 in 2021
- 5 male births in 2021
- Peak: 1973 (59 births)
Corby as a female name
- Ranked #11,384 in 1998
- 7 female births in 1998
- Peak: 1954 (39 births)
Popularity
Corby: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Corby from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 477 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Corby by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Corby during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Corbys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, California, Utah recorded the most babies named Corby, while Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Corby
The name Corby is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "cor" meaning "bend" or "winding" and "by" meaning "town" or "village." It likely originated as a place name referring to a settlement located near a bend in a river or stream.
The earliest recorded use of the name Corby dates back to the 11th century, when it appeared in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land and property commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry refers to the village of "Corbei" in Northamptonshire, England.
Throughout the Middle Ages, Corby was primarily used as a surname or a place name, rather than a given name. It wasn't until the 16th century that it began to gain popularity as a first name, particularly among English families with ties to the village of Corby or the surrounding areas.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the first name Corby was Corby Jenyns, a British author and scholar who lived from 1665 to 1741. He is best known for his work on the history of Cambridgeshire and his contributions to the field of natural history.
In the 18th century, Corby Browne (1712-1788) was a prominent British politician who served as a member of parliament for several constituencies, including Arundel and Wendover.
During the 19th century, Corby Nicholson (1854-1927) was a notable English architect who designed several notable buildings in the Arts and Crafts style, including the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
In the 20th century, Corby Borromeo (1920-1998) was an Italian-American artist and sculptor who gained recognition for his abstract and modernist works. His sculptures can be found in various public spaces and museums across the United States.
Another notable figure with the name Corby was Corby Anderson (1938-2019), an American actor and voice artist who appeared in numerous films, television shows, and video games. He was particularly well-known for his voice work in animated series such as "The Transformers" and "G.I. Joe."
While the name Corby has its roots in England, it has been used across various cultures and regions over the centuries, albeit with relatively low frequency compared to more common names. Its unique origins and historical significance make it a distinctive and intriguing choice for a given name.
People
Corby + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Corby as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Corby: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Corby?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,453 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Corby going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 235,894 US residents.
Is Corby a common name?
We classify Corby as "Rare". It ranks above 92.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,653 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Corby most popular?
The single biggest year for Corby was 1973, when 64 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Corby is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Corby a male name?
Yes, 81.7% of people registered as Corby in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.