Korben
Masculine
Korben came into American records from a film in the late 1990s and has stayed. It has a documented near-neighbor in the surname Corbin, but the K spelling arrived with the character rather than from the surname.
How old is the name Korben?
Korben first appears in US birth records in 1989 — 36 years ago. The typical Korben is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 2,300 people named Korben are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Korben most popular?
Korben peaked in 2013, reaching #1326 nationally. Today it ranks #3128, 1,802 places below that high. See the whole 2013 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Korben
This is our story, not the record's. Korben sits one letter from Corbin, which is one of those satisfying French bynames that describes a person by an animal — the raven, for hair as black as one. The K makes the name harder at the front and cuts its link to the French line, which may be exactly what a screenwriter wanted and exactly what parents liked afterwards. What can be said with confidence is that this spelling has a birth date in the American record, and that very few names do.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No established meaning for the K spelling. The surname Corbin is documented, from an Old French word for a raven, a byname for someone dark-haired; whether Korben was drawn from it or invented outright is not recorded.
Pronouncing Korben
KOR-ben
Two syllables, first stressed. The second is often reduced to KOR-bin.
Nicknames for Korben
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
- 2013129 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1326reached in 2013
- Change vs 2024
- −19.1%38 in 2025, from 47
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.
Korben in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Corbin in English — related form
- Corbin in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Florida, California.
Korbens among us
people named Korben are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 44,949 born in 2025 was named Korben
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Korben
- #3128
- Korben on the 2025 chart
- #872
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Korben went to 38 boys in 2025, but Corben is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 56, which makes it the 872nd most-given boys’ name of the year — 2,256 places above the chart.
- Korben38
- Corben18
About 1 boy in 30,501 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 44,949 for Korben itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Javaris test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Korben's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Javaris climbed just as high around 1990, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Javaris's path sketches the road Korben is walking now.
Korben sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Korben is headed
Korben is easing off slowly — about 26% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
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.
Korben beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Korben in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Ben sits inside it, giving an entirely ordinary fallback at any age.
- Two syllables and no silent letters; English speakers read it correctly on sight.
- Distinct in a classroom while sounding like a name that has always existed.
- Corbin and Korbin are both more written, and the spelling will be corrected often.
- The film association is specific and, for people of a certain age, immediate.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Korben to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Korben? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Korben
Masculine · #3128 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Korbens are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,300 people named Korben are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Korben?
- Korben is the most-used spelling in US records — 38 of the 56 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Corben.
- How popular is the name Korben in 2025?
- Korben ranks #3128 among US boy names in 2025, with 38 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Korben?
- About 1 in every 44,949 US boys born in 2025 was named Korben — 38 in all.
- Will my child share the name Korben with classmates?
- Korben will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Korben
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hamilton#3128 · Juanpablo#3128 · Courtney#3128 · Baxter#3128 · Javen#3128 · Hal#3128 · Dawud#3128 · Tavion#3128
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Korben? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Korben and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle