Kolbe
Masculine · “club”
Kolbe is given to both — 1,825 boys and 67 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Kolbe is a Polish surname, and the Franciscan who carried it volunteered to die in another man's place at Auschwitz.
How old is the name Kolbe?
Kolbe first appears in US birth records in 1989 — 36 years ago. The typical Kolbe alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 1,800 people named Kolbe are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kolbe most popular?
Kolbe peaked in 2001, reaching #1287 nationally. Today it ranks #1932, 645 places below that high. See the whole 2001 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Kolben to Kolbe
The story of Kolbe
Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Franciscan who hid Jews at his friary and was sent to Auschwitz in 1941; when ten men were selected to die after an escape, he offered himself in place of one who had a family. He was canonized in 1982 and the man he saved was present. The name appears in American records in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
club, cudgel
The German surname Kolbe comes from Kolben, 'club' or 'mace', a byname for a maker or wielder of one. A second route reads it from a form of Nikolaus. The Polish family that produced Maximilian Kolbe carried the German form. Neither reading is fully settled.
How the name formed
- Kolben
- Kolbe
Related forms: Kolbe · Kolbe · Colbe
Pronouncing Kolbe
KOHL-buh
Two syllables in German and Polish, KOL-beh. Many American bearers say KOHLB with one.
Nicknames for Kolbe
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
- 1989
- Most boys named
- 2001102 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1287reached in 2001
- Change vs 2024
- −2.4%80 in 2025, from 82
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.
Kolbe in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kolbe in German — same name
- Kolbe in Polish — same name
- Colbe in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Ohio, Kansas.
Kolbes among us
people named Kolbe are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 21,351 born in 2025 was named Kolbe
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Marlow test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kolbe's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Marlow climbed just as high around 1937, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Marlow's path sketches the road Kolbe is walking now.
Kolbe is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Kolbe is headed
Kolbe looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 16% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Kolbe beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kolbe in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A genuinely extraordinary act of self-sacrifice stands behind it.
- Two clean syllables once the final vowel is settled.
- It is standard in German and Polish surname use.
- The syllable count differs between European and American readings.
- Colby and Kolbe are close enough to be confused.
- It reads as a surname before it reads as a given name.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Kolbe to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kolbe
Masculine · #1932 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kolbes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,800 people named Kolbe are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kolbe in 2025?
- Kolbe ranks #1932 among US boy names in 2025, with 80 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kolbe?
- About 1 in every 21,351 US boys born in 2025 was named Kolbe — 80 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kolbe with classmates?
- Kolbe will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kolbe
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Fred#1932 · Zaidyn#1932 · Jacques#1932 · Aj#1932 · Cristofer#1932 · Colston#1932 · Irvin#1932 · Cosmo#1932
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kolbe? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kolbe and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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