Colby is a moderately popular boys' name in England & Wales, ranking #224 in 2025 with 222 recorded births. The name reached its all-time peak in 2025 with 222 births ranking #224. Since 1996, the popularity has increased by 1,205.9%. In 2025, approximately 1 in every 1,225 boys born was named Colby. STABLE Recent data shows the name is currently stable.
Colby is an English surname-style name with a light, approachable sound. The older place-name meaning is less central to modern use than the name's friendly, sporty feel.
Like many names of its type, Colby entered first-name use through surname tradition and later settled into mainstream naming. It has a very late twentieth-century American profile.