Home › Baby Names Directory › Colbie

Colbie

♀ Girl

Pronounced KOL-bee /ˈkoʊl.biː/High

Meaning: Variant of Colby, from Old Norse Koli (a personal name, from kol meaning coal) and by meaning farm or settlement; a place name turned surname turned given nameHigh

In 30 seconds: Colbie is a modern feminine spelling of Colby, a name of Old Norse origin meaning Koli's settlement or coal farm, that has crossed from surname to given name and is used for both boys and girls in contemporary America.
💕 Browse more names
Origin HighOld Norse, English
MeaningVariant of Colby, from Old Norse Koli (a personal name, from kol meaning coal) and by meaning farm or settlement; a place name turned surname turned given name
U.S. rank (2025)#881 ↗ Rising
2025 U.S. births303 girls (0.02% of U.S. girls)
Peak year2025
Total births (all-time)≈ 3,718

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 202519832025

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

History & Origin

Colbie is a variant spelling of Colby, an English surname derived from a place name found in Lincolnshire, England. The place name comes from Old Norse, combining the personal name Koli (from kol, coal or dark) with by (farm, village, settlement). Old Norse by names are a hallmark of the Danelaw — the areas of northern and eastern England under Viking control in the 9th and 10th centuries. Colby moved from place name to surname during the medieval period and later crossed into use as a given name in America.

Singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat, who rose to fame in 2007 with her debut album Coco, is the most visible bearer of this spelling and did much to popularize Colbie as a girls name. Prior to her breakthrough the name was predominantly used for boys. The -ie spelling feminises the name visually and aligns it with Billie, Jolie, and Kylie. Colbie has remained in modest but steady use in the United States since the late 2000s, appreciated for its soft sound and its unpretentious, country-inflected feel.

Did you know? The -by suffix in Colby (and Colbie) is the Old Norse word for farm or village and survives across hundreds of English place names in areas of Viking settlement, including Derby, Whitby, Rugby, and Grimsby.
Overall data confidence 87%
Behind the Name — Colby — etymology and Old Norse origin

Variations

ColbyKolbyKolbie

Nicknames

ColeCoby

Famous Bearers

  • ★Colbie Caillat (1985–present)
    American singer-songwriter who rose to fame with the 2007 hit Bubbly and has won multiple Grammy Awards for her acoustic pop style.

If you like Colbie…

Colby— the standard spelling of the same name with identical pronunciation
Billie— two-syllable girls name ending in -ie with the same friendly, country-pop feel
Kylie— similar two-syllable -ie ending girls name with comparable chart appeal
Callie— two-syllable girls name with a warm, down-to-earth character similar to Colbie

Frequently Asked

What does the name Colbie mean?

Colbie is a variant of Colby, from Old Norse meaning Koli's settlement or farm, where Koli relates to coal or darkness.

How do you pronounce Colbie?

It is said KOL-bee — two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Colbie a girl or boy name?

Colbie (with this spelling) is used primarily as a girls name; the Colby spelling is more common for boys.

Did singer Colbie Caillat make this name popular?

Yes, her 2007 breakthrough significantly boosted the popularity of the Colbie spelling as a girls name.