Can you attach multiple USB-C plugs to a single motherboard header?

I've got a motherboard that has a single USB-C header on it. I also have a case with no USB-C ports on the front panel. I know things like this exist, but I'm wondering is, is there anything with multiple ports on it that I can attach to a single USB-C header?

Or am I just looking at getting a USB-C hub? Because Ideally, I'd like to cut out a small section of the case and install the headers and make it look nice. I'd rather not have external cables hanging around.

The short answer is that you can't. A USB header port can only handle one device, so it has to go into a hub to support multiple USB-C ports for a multi-device configuration.

You could do USB header -> Hub -> Extensions and then expose each extension externally I suppose, but it would not be pretty. While it won't use your motherboard's USB-C header, there are PCIe header cards that would let you connect multiple 19 pin USB headers that terminate into USB-Cs. But at that point, why not just get a PCIe USB controller card for external USB-C without the internal cabling and case cut outs?

That's definitely a spot where 5.25" bays would be handy; they could make a hub so you could have like four ports in your drive bay, connected to the single USB-C header.

But those bays don't really exist anymore, so it's unlikely anyone will make such a gizmo. Even a 3.5" bay might work, but those are mostly gone now, too.

Each header on the motherboard supports two devices (they have the pins for two physical ports), but they both are wired through the same root hub. Theoretically there could be a header made that supported multiple physical ports, because the root hub can support many ports, but there's never been such a design and they just use multiple headers that connect to the same root hub. (On my X570 board, USBTreeView shows 3 controllers, each with 1 root hub with 8 to 10 ports. Obviously there aren't actually that many physical ports on the board or available via headers.)

When you say it has a "USB-C header" what exactly do you mean? A USB-C port internally? Or an E-key header? Or a USB 3.0 header? USB-C is a form factor for the cables and their connectors, not a USB version or header type.

Big name brands don't bother with them, but two-port front panel units are widely available (all 3.5 inch models but you can get an adapter for a 5.25 inch bay). Even 4-port hub models are easy to find, they're just cheap off-brand products for the most part.

This one is a powered hub (using a SATA connector) going to a standard USB 3.0 header. My assumption is that it functions like a 4-port hub connected to a single set of pins coming from the header (so technically the other set of pins on the header could be free and you could splice another cable in).
https://www.amazon.com/Cablecc-Ports-Motherboard-Connector-Floppy/dp/B07VVWXGGK

There are also models with an E-key connector for the motherboard, which supports USB 3.2 Gen 2 and up.
https://www.amazon.com/GRAUGEAR-Internal-10Gbps-Connection-Required/dp/B0BRYHF44V

This model provides USB-C and A connectors as a 4-port hub, but it's only USB3.0 still due to the header type.
https://www.amazon.com/Cablecc-USB-C-Motherboard-Connector-CD-ROM/dp/B086MG4M82

This one is almost a whole damn docking station in a 5.25 inch bay (just can't power your PC with it).
https://www.amazon.com/GRAUGEAR-microSD-Internal-Connector-Required/dp/B0DHGVNDPZ

And here's an 8-port 5.25 inch model. It clearly uses both of the sets of pins from the header, so it's effectively two 4-port hubs that both plug into the same root port, so you're still limited to the total of 5Gbps across all 8 ports.
https://www.amazon.com/Optical-Expansion-Computer-Adapter-Provided/dp/B09Q5MW9YY

Yeah, there are plenty of drive bay devices, but even must of the ones I saw still only had a single USB-C port on them.

Not that it matters, since this is my case: https://a.co/d/e9rrF8F

Yes, an E-key header, it looks like. From what I can tell, it only supports one port, unlike the old 9-pin USB headers that supported two.

The second one I linked has two C and two A ports, because it's a hub, and uses a Type-E connector. Type-E is technically not a real standard for USB, just something motherboard makers decided on for the internal header. It's just a pointlessly different connector intended to carry signals to a USB-C external port (front panel or PCI slot cover) but specifically with the pinout for Gen2x2 and higher. Maybe it's more secure on the motherboard end, but it's like 4 times the size of a USB-C connector. It is only meant for one port as it only has enough pins for that if you're doing Gen2x2. It would have to be larger to support more than one port by having more pins, just like a USB 3.0 or 2.0 header, so you'll simply have to use a hub of some sort.

For most mainboards, the makers probably don't expect a lot of people to need multiple additional Gen2x2, and that one port is enough when combined with the 3.0 and 2.0 headers. Maybe in the future that will change but not quickly, and given that so many cases don't have anywhere to PUT additional ports (even on less exotic cases than yours) it may never happen. It's seemed weird to me for many years that cases still usually only come with 2 front USB ports, or MAYBE 4, and they still do despite having nowhere to add more while reliance on USB is increasing.

That's an awful case design from a functionality standpoint. But you could get one of the hubs from the first link and just pull the board and connectors out of it to hack into your case, assuming there is a wide/deep enough area for the PCB and the cables sticking out. Since it's powered by a SATA power cable you'll still be able to have a powered-hub that way, without it having to be external. You could even rip off the Type-A ports if you didn't want to have them exposed on the front of the case. Note that one is still only 10Gbps on all the ports. Can't seem to find any with two 20Gbps ports.

Another option could be getting an external bus-powered hub and ripping it apart, and getting a Type-E to Type-C adapter to plug that into the motherboard and hack it into the case. The PCB might even be a little smaller, and you can get one with 4 Type-C ports. You'd just be sacrificing the extra power.

https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Adapter-Splitter-Extender-MacBook/dp/B0CR6JBJDH

If you didn't mind running an actual external power cable through the back of the case as well, you could do the same with a self-powered external hub, but the PCB for that could be larger. All the ones I could find are way complicated with individual switches for each port or LCD panels, stuff like that.