Columbus
Masculine · “dove”
Columbus is a surname given as a first name for patriotic reasons, and underneath it is an ordinary Latin bird: columba, the dove. The navigator's family name meant nothing grander than that.
How old is the name Columbus?
Columbus was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Columbus alive today was born around 1927, making them about 98 years old. About 2,000 people named Columbus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Columbus most popular?
Columbus peaked in 1880, reaching #192 nationally. See the whole 1880 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From columba to Columbus
The story of Columbus
Nineteenth-century America named children after national figures as a matter of course — Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Lafayette — and Columbus belonged squarely to that habit, reinforced by Columbia as a poetic name for the country itself. The name appears in American registers through the century and held a place in the top three hundred for boys in the 1880s, then faded with the practice that produced it.
Meaning
dove
From the Latin columba, 'dove'. Colombo was a common Italian surname built on it, and the Latinized Columbus is how the navigator's name was written in the documents of the Spanish court. The dove's association with peace and with the Holy Spirit gave the word a long devotional life independent of the name.
How the name formed
- columba
- Colombo
- Columbus
Related forms: Colombo · Colón · Colm
Pronouncing Columbus
kuh-LUM-bus
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Said the same way as the historical figure and the Ohio city.
Nicknames for Columbus
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1922187 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #192reached in 1880
- Change vs 2017
- 0.0%5 in 2023, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Columbus in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Colombo in Italian — related form
- Colón in Spanish — related form
- Colm in Irish — related form
Columbuss among us
people named Columbus are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Columbus has already lived its whole cycle: it rose, had its era, and has stepped off the charts. The fashion question is behind it — what lies ahead is the waiting room where revivals begin, once a name's first generation has grown distant enough for it to sound fresh again.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The dove meaning is concrete, attractive and completely undisputed.
- Colm and Colum are living Irish names from the same Latin root.
- Three syllables with a strong middle, a rhythm that carries well.
- The historical figure is now the subject of substantial and unresolved public argument, which the name cannot avoid.
- It is strongly period-coded to the nineteenth century.
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Columbus
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Columbuss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,000 people named Columbus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Columbus in 2025?
- Columbus is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Columbus with classmates?
- Columbus will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Charles#48 · Christopher#68 · Carl#1132 · Christian#96 · Caleb#58 · Cameron#76 · Carlos#150 · Clarence#1499
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Columbus? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Columbus and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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