Kolbe

Meaning of Kolbe

Kolbe began as a German surname derived from the Middle High German kolbe, “club” or “mace,” yet its modern life as a given name owes much to Saint Maximilian María Kolbe, the Polish Franciscan revered across the Catholic, especially Latin, world for his self-sacrifice at Auschwitz. The English pronunciation—KOHL-bee (/koʊlˈbi/)—is crisp and portable, echoing Colby while preserving a distinctive K. U.S. Social Security records chart a quiet, steady presence: between 35 and 102 boys have received the name each year since 1989, keeping it parked in the 700–880 range and signaling rarity without obscurity. Blending Germanic strength with a layer of Latin-tinged spiritual valor, Kolbe offers parents a concise, two-syllable choice that signals resolve, charity, and global accessibility.