Kolby
From the Old Norse name Kolbrandr, meaning "coal-bright" or "sword-bright".
Name Census estimates that about 12,578 living Americans carry the first name Kolby. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Kolby today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kolby births was 2001 (781 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kolby. 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
13K
~ 1 in 27,250 Americans
Peak year
2001
781 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,268
Tracked since 1968
Gender
Gender distribution for Kolby
Kolby leans heavily male at 89.8% of total registrations, but 1,308 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kolby as a male name
- Ranked #1,268 in 2024
- 155 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2001 (739 births)
Kolby as a female name
- Ranked #3,916 in 2024
- 38 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2000 (55 births)
Popularity
Kolby: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kolby from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 5,054 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kolby 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 Kolby during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kolbys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 46 states and territories. Texas, California, Utah recorded the most babies named Kolby, while Nevada, New Jersey, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 201 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kolby
The name Kolby is of Scandinavian origin, derived from the Old Norse word "kolr," which means "blacksmith." It is believed to have first emerged as a surname in the Viking era, referring to those who worked as blacksmiths or lived near a blacksmith's forge.
The earliest recorded use of the name Kolby dates back to the 11th century in Norway and Denmark. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Kolby Eriksson, a Norwegian blacksmith who lived in the late 11th century and was renowned for his exceptional craftsmanship.
In the 12th century, the name Kolby appeared in the Icelandic sagas, particularly in the Njáls saga, where it was mentioned as the name of a character. This suggests that the name had gained popularity and recognition among the Norse people during that time.
As the name spread across Scandinavia, it also found its way into other European regions, such as England and Scotland, where it was adapted to various spellings like Colby and Coleby. One notable figure from this era was Colby of Crowland, an English monk and chronicler who lived in the late 12th century and wrote about the history of the Crowland Abbey.
In the 13th century, the name Kolby was recorded in Iceland, with Kolby Bjarnason being a prominent figure. He was a chieftain and lawspeaker in the Icelandic Commonwealth, known for his wisdom and leadership during a turbulent period in the country's history.
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the name Kolby continued to be used across Scandinavia and other parts of Europe, although its popularity waxed and waned. One notable bearer of the name was Colby Tanner, an English merchant and explorer who traveled to the Americas in the late 16th century and documented his experiences in a travelogue.
In the 19th century, the name Kolby resurfaced in various parts of the world, particularly in the United States, where it was adopted by families of Scandinavian descent. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Kolby Allerton, an American businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1835 to 1912 and was known for his contributions to education and social welfare initiatives.
People
Kolby + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kolby 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
Kolby: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kolby?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12,578 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kolby 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 27,250 US residents.
Is Kolby a common name?
We classify Kolby as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12,792 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kolby most popular?
The single biggest year for Kolby was 2001, when 781 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kolby is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kolby a male name?
Yes, 89.8% of people registered as Kolby 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.