Columbus
Columbus was last recorded in 2023, when 5 babies were given it; 7,517 Americans have been recorded with it between 1880 and 2023 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,820 Americans named Columbus and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (24% of everyone recorded); the median is 67 years old and half are between 51 and 77.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Columbus by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Columbus mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Columbus is “a male given name from Latin.” Its etymology gives the sense “a dove” (columbus).
From Latin columbus (“a dove”). Doublet of Colombo. The common noun and verb are references to the Italian explorer.
/kəˈlʌmbəs/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Columbus?
Unranked in 2025
Its last boys’ rank on record is #12,575, in 2023; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
187 babies in 1922, the peak
Columbus peaked in 1922, when 187 boys were given it, #447 among boys’ names. It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 5 | #12,575 | under 0.01 |
| 2019 | 7 | #9,936 | under 0.01 |
| 2018 | 6 | #11,036 | under 0.01 |
| 2017 | 5 | #12,654 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 7 | #9,858 | under 0.01 |
| 2014 | 9 | #8,258 | under 0.01 |
| 2012 | 6 | #11,052 | under 0.01 |
| 2011 | 9 | #8,191 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 5 | #12,841 | under 0.01 |
| 2008 | 5 | #12,866 | under 0.01 |
Every recorded year (137)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 8 | #9,057 | under 0.01 |
| 2006 | 7 | #9,748 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 13 | #5,868 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 6 | #9,788 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 7 | #8,615 | under 0.01 |
| 2001 | 6 | #9,466 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 12 | #5,624 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 10 | #6,118 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 5 | #9,874 | under 0.01 |
| 1997 | 13 | #4,701 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 5 | #9,249 | under 0.01 |
| 1995 | 9 | #5,999 | under 0.01 |
| 1994 | 9 | #5,938 | under 0.01 |
| 1993 | 13 | #4,482 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 14 | #4,133 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 12 | #4,525 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 13 | #4,203 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 16 | #3,479 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 10 | #4,498 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 12 | #3,763 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 13 | #3,473 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 12 | #3,629 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 14 | #3,129 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 17 | #2,689 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 22 | #2,282 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 18 | #2,590 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 25 | #2,122 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 16 | #2,795 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 29 | #1,805 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 22 | #2,138 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 25 | #1,939 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 17 | #2,459 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 20 | #2,137 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 30 | #1,589 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 29 | #1,606 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 33 | #1,498 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 27 | #1,662 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 28 | #1,532 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 30 | #1,432 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 32 | #1,344 | 0.02 |
| 1966 | 28 | #1,455 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 38 | #1,238 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 31 | #1,409 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 32 | #1,378 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 30 | #1,427 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 59 | #1,014 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 52 | #1,071 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 56 | #1,026 | 0.03 |
| 1958 | 59 | #995 | 0.03 |
| 1957 | 61 | #971 | 0.03 |
| 1956 | 61 | #956 | 0.03 |
| 1955 | 71 | #874 | 0.03 |
| 1954 | 73 | #853 | 0.04 |
| 1953 | 64 | #896 | 0.03 |
| 1952 | 73 | #822 | 0.04 |
| 1951 | 75 | #812 | 0.04 |
| 1950 | 86 | #740 | 0.05 |
| 1949 | 83 | #754 | 0.05 |
| 1948 | 82 | #745 | 0.05 |
| 1947 | 90 | #722 | 0.05 |
| 1946 | 73 | #777 | 0.04 |
| 1945 | 73 | #711 | 0.05 |
| 1944 | 96 | #626 | 0.07 |
| 1943 | 95 | #656 | 0.07 |
| 1942 | 92 | #675 | 0.07 |
| 1941 | 98 | #603 | 0.08 |
| 1940 | 84 | #659 | 0.07 |
| 1939 | 92 | #607 | 0.08 |
| 1938 | 99 | #593 | 0.09 |
| 1937 | 109 | #556 | 0.10 |
| 1936 | 90 | #615 | 0.09 |
| 1935 | 94 | #599 | 0.09 |
| 1934 | 108 | #568 | 0.10 |
| 1933 | 104 | #563 | 0.10 |
| 1932 | 107 | #574 | 0.10 |
| 1931 | 112 | #554 | 0.11 |
| 1930 | 116 | #559 | 0.11 |
| 1929 | 129 | #516 | 0.12 |
| 1928 | 145 | #502 | 0.13 |
| 1927 | 139 | #519 | 0.12 |
| 1926 | 148 | #495 | 0.13 |
| 1925 | 154 | #490 | 0.14 |
| 1924 | 151 | #510 | 0.13 |
| 1923 | 178 | #457 | 0.16 |
| 1922 | 187 | #447 | 0.17 |
| 1921 | 151 | #502 | 0.14 |
| 1920 | 144 | #503 | 0.14 |
| 1919 | 163 | #464 | 0.17 |
| 1918 | 152 | #483 | 0.15 |
| 1917 | 145 | #478 | 0.16 |
| 1916 | 134 | #491 | 0.15 |
| 1915 | 135 | #475 | 0.16 |
| 1914 | 110 | #460 | 0.17 |
| 1913 | 103 | #423 | 0.20 |
| 1912 | 65 | #491 | 0.15 |
| 1911 | 53 | #391 | 0.23 |
| 1910 | 41 | #422 | 0.21 |
| 1909 | 50 | #327 | 0.30 |
| 1908 | 48 | #318 | 0.31 |
| 1907 | 39 | #353 | 0.27 |
| 1906 | 35 | #350 | 0.26 |
| 1905 | 37 | #330 | 0.28 |
| 1904 | 37 | #329 | 0.29 |
| 1903 | 31 | #346 | 0.26 |
| 1902 | 47 | #275 | 0.38 |
| 1901 | 28 | #349 | 0.26 |
| 1900 | 45 | #314 | 0.30 |
| 1899 | 40 | #274 | 0.38 |
| 1898 | 44 | #268 | 0.36 |
| 1897 | 34 | #317 | 0.30 |
| 1896 | 38 | #301 | 0.32 |
| 1895 | 42 | #274 | 0.36 |
| 1894 | 41 | #275 | 0.35 |
| 1893 | 43 | #268 | 0.38 |
| 1892 | 47 | #261 | 0.39 |
| 1891 | 39 | #257 | 0.39 |
| 1890 | 43 | #260 | 0.39 |
| 1889 | 40 | #263 | 0.36 |
| 1888 | 60 | #227 | 0.50 |
| 1887 | 40 | #250 | 0.39 |
| 1886 | 56 | #226 | 0.51 |
| 1885 | 41 | #258 | 0.38 |
| 1884 | 50 | #241 | 0.44 |
| 1883 | 49 | #221 | 0.47 |
| 1882 | 62 | #206 | 0.55 |
| 1881 | 51 | #216 | 0.51 |
| 1880 | 64 | #192 | 0.58 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Columbus a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Columbus has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 137 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Columbus: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Columbus, and how old are they?
1,820 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 24% of the 7,517 Americans ever recorded as Columbus. The median Columbus alive today is 67 years old; half are between 51 and 77.
The 2020 Census counted 1,692 people named Columbus (12 women and girls, 1,680 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,264 born in the U.S. The Census count is 25% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 326 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 770 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 376 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 198 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 110 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 39 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Columbus born?
The states with the most babies named Columbus are North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, with 41% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Alabama is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 601 | not ranked | 3.0× |
| Georgia | 568 | not ranked | 3.1× |
| Alabama | 506 | not ranked | 3.2× |
| Mississippi | 477 | not ranked | 4.0× |
| South Carolina | 344 | not ranked | 2.9× |
| Arkansas | 330 | not ranked | 3.3× |
| Louisiana | 283 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| Texas | 267 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Tennessee | 192 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Kentucky | 153 | not ranked | 1.0× |
Where Columbus is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Columbus is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 4.0 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Columbus with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Columbus
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Columbus and names like it
- Compare Columbus and ClemBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sColumbus peaked in 1922.
- North Carolina’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Columbus since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Columbus: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1922The year the most babies were named Columbus.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Columbus alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.