At a Glance: Name: Columbia – Meaning: '[land] of Columbus' -- formed from the explorer's Latinized name plus a place-name suffix – Origin: Latin (from the explorer's Latinized name, Columbus) – Gender: Girl – Pronunciation: kuh-LUM-bee-uh
Columbia is a Latin (from the explorer's Latinized name, Columbus) girl's name meaning “'[land] of Columbus' -- formed from the explorer's Latinized name plus a place-name suffix”. It appears in 2 of our baby name lists.
Meaning & Origin of Columbia
Meaning: '[land] of Columbus' -- formed from the explorer's Latinized name plus a place-name suffix.
Origin: Latin (from the explorer's Latinized name, Columbus).
A common claim: Widely said to mean 'dove,' from Latin columba. Actually: That's one step removed from the truth -- Columbia is built directly from 'Columbus,' not from the word for dove; the 'dove' sense belongs to Columbus's own surname etymology, not to 'Columbia' itself.
Source: Wiktionary.
How to Pronounce Columbia
Phonetic: kuh-LUM-bee-uh IPA: /kəˈlʌmbiə/
Popularity of Columbia
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration birth-name data, 1882–2024.
Lists That Include Columbia
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