Kollette
French feminine name transferred from the French word for small collar.
Name Census estimates that about 23 living Americans carry the first name Kollette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kollette today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kollette births was 1965 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kollette. 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 Kollette. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
23
~ 1 in 14,902,363 Americans
Peak year
1965
7 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2018 SSA rank
#14,812
Tracked since 1965
Popularity
Kollette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kollette from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 11 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kollette 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 Kollette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kollette
The given name Kollette has its origins tracing back to the ancient Germanic languages, specifically the Old High German word "kollin", meaning "small" or "diminutive". This name likely emerged during the early medieval period, around the 5th to 10th centuries AD, in regions where Germanic tribes settled, such as modern-day Germany, Austria, and parts of Eastern Europe.
Kollette is believed to have been derived from the Germanic root word "kol", which was used as a prefix to denote something small or little. This prefix was commonly combined with other words to form names, such as Kolbert, Kolmar, and Kollette itself. The name's spelling has evolved over time, with variations like Colette, Collette, and Kolette appearing in different regions and time periods.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kollette can be found in the Codex Traditionum Ecclesiae Ravennatensis, a historical document from the 10th century that recorded land transactions in the Ravenna region of Italy. In this document, a woman named Kollette is mentioned as a landowner, indicating the name's use during that time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kollette or its variations. One such person was Kollette von Heidebach (1292-1367), a German noblewoman and abbess of the Monastery of St. Theodor in Bamberg, Germany. Another was Collette Bouvier (1508-1594), a French mystic and founder of the Colettine Poor Clares, a reformed branch of the Poor Clares order.
In the 16th century, Colette de Corbie (1381-1447), a French nun and religious reformer, played a significant role in reviving the strict observance of the Poor Clares order. She was later canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in 1807.
Moving forward in time, Collette Whidden (1713-1762) was a British writer and historian known for her work "The Memoirs of the Life of Collette Whidden", which provided insights into the lives of women in 18th-century England.
In the 20th century, Colette (1873-1954), a renowned French novelist and performer, gained international recognition for her semi-autobiographical novels and her contributions to the literary and performing arts world.
While these are just a few examples, the name Kollette and its variations have been borne by individuals from various backgrounds and eras, reflecting its enduring presence and evolution throughout history.
People
Kollette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kollette 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
Kollette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kollette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 23 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kollette 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 14,902,363 US residents.
Is Kollette a common name?
We classify Kollette as "Very Rare". It ranks above 42.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 25 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kollette most popular?
The single biggest year for Kollette was 1965, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kollette is about 35 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 Kollette in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kollette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kollette in the SSA data are female. 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 Kollette still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kollette 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 Kollette 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 have the name Kollette?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.