Kolbe vs Kollin
American parents have registered 2,782 Kollins since 1880, against 1,892 Kolbes. But in 2025 it was Kolbe that was commoner, 89 babies to 38.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Kolbe Kollin
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 52 years in which either name was published, Kollin for 42 years and Kolbe for 10 years. The lead changed hands 3 times.
Side by side
| Kolbe | Kollin | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,892 | 2,782 |
| Most in one year | 110 | 128 |
| Babies in 2025 | 89 | 38 |
| Estimated living today | 1,900 | 2,700 |
| Median age today | 14 | 19 |
| Peak year | 2001 | 2009 |
| Best rank | 1,287th boys | 1,347th boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 1,932nd | 3,128th |
| First recorded | 1989 | 1970 |
| Girls / boys | 67 / 1,825 | 5 / 2,777 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Kollins alive today are over 19; half the Kolbes are over 14. That is 5 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Kolbe Kansas (5.6×), Texas (5.2×), Michigan (1.6×)
- Kollin Louisiana (5.7×), Michigan (2.9×), Texas (2.7×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Kolbe and Kollin.