Explore the Family Name Coulibaly

The meaning of Coulibaly

West African (mainly Mali, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso): from the name of the Coulibaly clan of the Bambara people, possibly derived from kulu ‘band of infantry’ and bali ‘to defend’, but said to mean ‘(men) without boats’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Coulibaly in the United States?

According to data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Coulibaly has seen significant growth between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, the surname Coulibaly ranked 49,471 in terms of popularity but by 2010, it had jumped to a rank of 23,251 - demonstrating a change of 53%. Over the same period, the count of people with this surname increased from 399 to 1,096, marking an impressive growth of approximately 174.69%. The proportion of the surname per 100,000 people also rose from 0.15 to 0.37, indicating a substantial increase of 146.67%.

20002010Change
Rank#49,471#23,25153%
Count3991,096174.69%
Proportion per 100k0.150.37146.67%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Coulibaly

The Decennial U.S. Census provides insightful information about the ethnicity associated with the surname Coulibaly. Between 2000 and 2010, there was a notable increase in the percentage of individuals identifying as Black, from 86.22% to 92.88%, a positive change of 7.72%. However, the percentage of individuals identifying as having two or more ethnicities decreased significantly from 7.52% to 2.46%, a drop of 67.29%. Furthermore, those identifying as White saw a slight decrease from 4.01% to 3.38%. Interestingly, in 2010, a small percentage (0.46%) of individuals with the surname Coulibaly identified as Hispanic, which was not the case in 2000. The categories of Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native did not register any individuals in either census year.

20002010Change
Black86.22%92.88%7.72%
White4.01%3.38%-15.71%
Two or More Races7.52%2.46%-67.29%
Hispanic0%0.46%0%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%