Kolb
A German surname whose origin is uncertain, though it is often linked either to a word for “bald” or to a shortened form of names beginning with Kol- or Kal-.
The #3,064 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 26,377 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Kolb is found in German-speaking areas and has several proposed explanations. One old suggestion connects it with a word related to “bald” or “bare,” comparing it with forms such as Old High German chalw and Latin calvus. Other scholars treated it as a shortened or altered form within a wider family of names beginning with Kol- or Kal-, and some older explanations connected it with a word for a club or mace, though that is less secure.
History
The name appears to have been long established and fairly widespread in German areas. Nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century writers disagreed about its derivation, and some explicitly said no fully reliable explanation was available. In modern genealogy work, Kolb is usually treated as a German surname with uncertain origin rather than a single fixed derivation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One historical writer noted that Kolb was already an old and common family name in Munich in the 19th century.
From the historical record
“A. Köhling. Vklf. (i): Kohlt - Kuhley. Zweistämmige Kürzung Kolb-. (Kolbo): Kolbe; Kolb — Kidbe—Külb. Vklf. (1): KÖlbl — KiUbel. Kolb 8. Kol (V., zweist K.). KoU- s. 1) God (V.) 2) Kol.”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen