Kolbyn
A masculine name derived from the word "coal" combined with "byn".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Kolbyn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kolbyn today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kolbyn births was 2007 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kolbyn. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kolbyn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
2007
7 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2007 SSA rank
#10,404
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Kolbyn: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Kolbyn 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 Kolbyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Kolbyn
The name Kolbyn is a relatively modern variant of the traditional Scandinavian name Kolbein. It has its roots in Old Norse, the language spoken by the Vikings and inhabitants of medieval Scandinavia. The name is formed from the elements "kolr" meaning "black" or "coal," and "bein" meaning "thin" or "slender."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Kolbein date back to the 10th century, where it was commonly used among the Norse people of Iceland, Norway, and other parts of Scandinavia. It is believed that the name may have originated as a descriptive nickname, referring to a person with a slender, dark complexion or dark hair.
In the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of prose narratives from the 13th and 14th centuries, there are several notable figures named Kolbein. One of the most prominent was Kolbein Tumason, an Icelandic chieftain and lawspeaker who lived in the late 11th century and played a significant role in the Christianization of Iceland.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Kolbein Arnorsson, a 12th-century Icelandic poet and chieftain. His poems, preserved in the Edda, provide valuable insights into the cultural and literary traditions of medieval Iceland.
As the name spread beyond Scandinavia, it underwent various spelling variations and adaptations. In England, for instance, it was sometimes rendered as Colban or Colbyn during the Middle Ages, reflecting the influence of Norse settlers and traders.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kolbyn in English sources is found in the 14th-century text "The Travels of Sir John Mandeville," which mentions a certain "Colbyn the Dane."
In later centuries, the name remained relatively uncommon but appeared sporadically among individuals of Scandinavian descent or those with connections to the Norse cultural sphere. Notable bearers include Kolbyn Arnstein, a Norwegian-American explorer and fur trader active in the early 19th century, and Kolbyn Bjornsson, an Icelandic sculptor and woodcarver born in 1857.
While the name Kolbyn is not as widely used as its traditional form Kolbein, it continues to be a nod to the rich cultural heritage of the Norse peoples and their enduring linguistic and literary legacy.
People
Kolbyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kolbyn 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
Kolbyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kolbyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kolbyn 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Kolbyn a common name?
We classify Kolbyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kolbyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Kolbyn was 2007, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kolbyn is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Kolbyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kolbyn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kolbyn 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.
Is Kolbyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kolbyn in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Kolbyn can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Kolbyn?
Find out how many Americans are named Kolbyn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.