Unisex name ★ peaked 2001

Colby

Meaning charcoal Gender Unisex · 7% girls Rank 2025 #615 Trend → Stable

From either the Old Norse personal name Koli or kol (“charcoal”) + býr (“settlement”).

Rank 2025
#615
among boys · ↓32 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
515
named Colby · -4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,754
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2001
3,979 babies
All-time total
58,155
#482 all-time among boys
First recorded
1888
in Social Security records

Colby popularity over time

58,155 babies have been named Colby since 1888, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.631.251.882.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 5 5 1 – #1,067
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – 32 32 3 – #2,777
1920s – 90 90 9 +181% #2,357
1930s – 73 73 7 -19% #2,358
1940s – 137 137 14 +88% #1,465
1950s 65 225 290 29 +112% #1,413
1960s 46 430 476 48 +64% #843
1970s 303 2,754 3,057 306 +542% #413
1980s 906 6,843 7,749 775 +153% #250
1990s 1,210 14,261 15,471 1,547 +100% #197
2000s 858 19,182 20,040 2,004 +30% #99
2010s 475 7,199 7,674 767 -62% #280
2020s (to 2025) 321 2,740 3,061 510 -34% #583

Where Colby is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 461 0.27 outside top 500
2027 467 0.27 outside top 500
2028 471 0.28 outside top 500
2029 475 0.28 outside top 500
2030 479 0.28 outside top 500

Where Colby is most popular

Boys named Colby per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.266 per 1,000. Strongest in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Colby born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Hampshire 49 2.21 +728%
Maine 28 1.44 +442%
Massachusetts 92 0.669 +151%
Connecticut 43 0.635 +138%
West Virginia 20 0.613 +130%
Kansas 35 0.510 +92%
Iowa 34 0.493 +85%
Mississippi 26 0.458 +72%
Pennsylvania 118 0.444 +67%
Virginia 81 0.427 +60%
Minnesota 52 0.424 +59%
North Carolina 108 0.423 +59%
Nebraska 18 0.414 +55%
Missouri 54 0.390 +46%
Oregon 29 0.382 +43%
Wisconsin 45 0.380 +43%
Washington 62 0.379 +42%
South Carolina 39 0.377 +42%
Colorado 48 0.372 +40%
Kentucky 37 0.369 +38%
Utah 35 0.367 +38%
Tennessee 64 0.355 +33%
Alabama 38 0.348 +30%
Maryland 41 0.344 +29%
Idaho 14 0.342 +28%
Ohio 88 0.332 +25%
Georgia 81 0.320 +20%
Indiana 50 0.312 +17%
Louisiana 28 0.274 ≈ national
Oklahoma 24 0.271 ≈ national
Illinois 62 0.243 -9%
Michigan 47 0.229 -14%
Arizona 36 0.220 -17%
Florida 97 0.205 -23%
Texas 164 0.186 -30%
New York 74 0.171 -36%
Arkansas 10 0.158 -41%
California 139 0.152 -43%
Nevada 6 0.105 -60%
New Jersey 20 0.099 -63%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Colby

Colby is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #615 in 2025 with 455 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1888, 58,155 American babies have been named Colby, about 93% boys and 7% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2001, when 3,979 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Colby stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Colby?

The median living Colby is about 24 years old; half are between 18 and 33. An estimated 56 thousand people named Colby are alive in the United States today.

median 24 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Colby year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 60 #2,828 455 #615
2024 49 #3,240 490 #583
2023 47 #3,395 467 #607
2022 64 #2,703 469 #601
2021 56 #2,967 420 #651
2020 45 #3,407 439 #618
2019 48 #3,290 447 #612
2018 42 #3,628 459 #597
2017 47 #3,352 465 #584
2016 37 #4,013 558 #529
2015 45 #3,493 665 #457
2014 52 #3,145 717 #427
2013 33 #4,351 746 #400
2012 48 #3,379 909 #341
2011 57 #2,996 1,026 #314
2010 66 #2,702 1,207 #280
2009 72 #2,575 1,152 #285
2008 70 #2,638 1,256 #273
2007 68 #2,688 1,221 #283
2006 44 #3,573 1,272 #272
2005 54 #2,975 1,603 #220
2004 71 #2,402 2,066 #185
2003 85 #2,086 2,170 #181
2002 119 #1,565 3,118 #125
2001 120 #1,547 3,859 #99
2000 155 #1,262 1,465 #234
1995 108 #1,477 1,411 #209
1990 129 #1,266 1,129 #245
1985 146 #1,032 715 #286
1980 31 #2,880 262 #532
1975 42 #2,065 350 #413
1970 19 #3,327 142 #696
1965 6 #5,931 32 #1,362
1960 – – 32 #1,408
1955 14 #3,117 25 #1,546
1950 7 #4,390 14 #2,041
1945 – – 15 #1,791
1940 – – 6 #3,193
1935 – – 10 #2,418
1930 – – 8 #3,070
1925 – – 8 #3,197
1920 – – 13 #2,357
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Colby

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Colby O'Donis Colby O'Donis American singer (born 1989) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Colby, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Colby?

The median living Colby is about 24 years old. Half of all living Colbys are between 18 and 33 years old.

How many people named Colby are alive today?

An estimated 56 thousand people named Colby are alive in the United States, based on 58,155 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Colby mean?

From either the Old Norse personal name Koli or kol (“charcoal”) + býr (“settlement”).

How popular is the name Colby in 2025?

Colby ranked #615 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 455 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Colby?

58,155 babies have been named Colby in the United States since 1888, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Colby most popular?

Colby peaked in 2001, when 3,979 newborns received the name.

Is Colby a boy or girl name?

Colby is used for both: about 7% of babies named Colby have been girls and 93% boys.

Is the name Colby rising or falling?

Colby is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Colby become more popular?

Colby looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 479 boys named Colby in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Colby?

Well-known people named Colby include Colby O'Donis (singer).

Names like Colby

Names that sound and feel close to Colby: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Colby with similar names → More names starting with C →