Given name & surname
Columbus
“dove”·“resembling a dove”
Columbus is a variant of Columba. Interpretations include “dove” and “resembling a dove” (Latin). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Columbus is a variant of Columba. Interpretations include “dove” and “resembling a dove” (Latin). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Columbus is a variant of Columba. An origin associated with Columba is Latin.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Latin columbus (“a dove”), from Ancient Greek κόλυμβος.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Columbus through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 7,517
- 7,517 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1922
- 187 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −80%
- Cooling
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 187 in 1922. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,692 as a first name in 2020; 1,946 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Columbus’s family of names
In English usage, Columbus has a diminutive in LUM. In English usage, Columbus shares an earlier linguistic root with Colombo. Columbus has a related form in Columba.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Columbus has relatives in 5 languages.
5 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Columbus
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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