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    The surname Colby

    A Norse place surname, carried by 11,278 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈkoʊl.bi/ 2 syllables Soundex C410 Also a first name

    Colby: #3,204 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Colby #3,204, 11,278 people Colby: #3,204 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Colby #3,204, 11,278 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Colby is more common than 98% of them.

    Origin

    Norse origin

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

    Colby is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

    One of 126 Norse surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 11,278 people named Colby in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 27,376 Americans. That is up 2.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 11,023.

    #3,204
    rank among US surnames
    11,278
    people in 2010
    3.8
    per 100,000 Americans
    +2.3%
    change since 2000 (was #3,015)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #3,195Shuler11,31527,286
    #3,196Garvey11,30727,306
    #3,197Cardoso11,30427,313
    #3,198Nettles11,30227,318
    #3,200Burdette11,28427,361
    #3,201Villagomez11,28227,366
    #3,202Apodaca11,28027,371

    Who is named Colby

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    93% of people named Colby identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.7% as two or more races.

    • White (not Hispanic) 93%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
    • Two or more races 1.7%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 1.6%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Colbys

    7 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Bainbridge Colby
      American politician (1869-1950)
    • William Colby
      American intelligence agent (1920–1996)
    • Barbara Colby
      American actress (1939-1975)
    • Elbridge Colby
      American official and strategy consultant, born 1979
    • Clara Bewick Colby
      British-American lecturer, newspaper publisher and correspondent, women's rights activist,, 1846–1916
    • Anita Colby
      American actress (1914-1992)
    • James Colby
      American actor (1961-2018)

    Other Norse surnames

    All 126 Norse surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Colby come from?
    From either the Old Norse personal name Koli or kol (“charcoal”) + býr (“settlement”).
    How common is the surname Colby?
    11,278 people in the United States had the surname Colby in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 27,376 Americans. It ranked 3,204th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Colby?
    In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named Colby identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
    Who is the most famous person named Colby?
    Bainbridge Colby, American politician (1869-1950), followed by William Colby.
    Where is the surname Colby most common?
    Wikidata records people named Colby in the United States.
    How do you pronounce Colby?
    Colby is /ˈkoʊl.bi/, 2 syllables.
    What type of surname is Colby?
    Colby is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
    Is the surname Colby getting more or less common?
    More common. 11,023 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 11,278 in 2010, up 2.3%.
    Is Colby also a first name?
    Yes. Colby is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.