Kolbe
A diminutive form of the Polish name Kolbuszka, meaning "small loaf of bread".
Name Census estimates that about 1,781 living Americans carry the first name Kolbe. It is a predominantly male name (96.8% of registrations). The average person named Kolbe today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kolbe births was 2001 (110 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kolbe. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Kolbe is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 58 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Kolbe is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 192,450 Americans
Peak year
2001
110 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,938
Tracked since 1989
Gender
Gender distribution for Kolbe
Kolbe leans heavily male at 96.8% of total registrations, but 58 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kolbe as a male name
- Ranked #1,938 in 2024
- 81 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2001 (102 births)
Kolbe as a female name
- Ranked #11,676 in 2021
- 8 female births in 2021
- Peak: 2001 (8 births)
Popularity
Kolbe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kolbe from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 624 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Kolbe remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kolbe 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 Kolbe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kolbes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Texas, California, Michigan recorded the most babies named Kolbe, while New York, Arizona, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kolbe
The given name Kolbe is of German origin, derived from the Old German word "kolbo" meaning "helmet." It first emerged as a surname during the Middle Ages, likely referring to a person who made or sold helmets.
In the 12th century, the name was recorded as "Kolbin" in the Codex Diplomaticus Silesiae, a collection of historical documents from the region of Silesia, which is now primarily located in modern-day Poland. The transition from the surname to a given name occurred gradually over the following centuries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the given name Kolbe was Kolbe of Oppeln, a Silesian nobleman who lived in the late 13th century. He was a prominent figure in the region and served as a member of the court of the Duke of Opole.
In the 15th century, the name gained further recognition with the birth of Kolbe of Fritzlar, a German theologian and preacher who was born around 1460. He was known for his sermons and writings on religious and moral topics, and his works were influential during the late medieval period.
Another notable figure with the name Kolbe was Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan friar who lived from 1894 to 1941. He is revered as a martyr and saint in the Catholic Church for offering his life in exchange for a fellow prisoner at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.
In the 20th century, Kolbe von Obermayer was a German military officer who served in both World Wars. He was born in 1886 and died in 1964, and he is remembered for his role in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II.
Lastly, Kolbe Grebel was a Swiss Anabaptist leader born in 1498. He played a significant role in the early Reformation movement and was instrumental in establishing the Swiss Brethren, a precursor to the Mennonite and Amish traditions.
People
Kolbe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kolbe as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kolbe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kolbe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,781 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kolbe 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 192,450 US residents.
Is Kolbe a common name?
We classify Kolbe as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,801 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kolbe most popular?
The single biggest year for Kolbe was 2001, when 110 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kolbe is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kolbe a male name?
Yes, 96.8% of people registered as Kolbe 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.