Given name & surname
Cobi
“the supplanter”·“he who supplants”
Cobi is a variant of Coby. In Hebrew use, Coby carries the interpretation “the supplanter.” In English use, Coby carries the interpretation “he who supplants.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Cobi is a variant of Coby. In Hebrew use, Coby carries the interpretation “the supplanter.” In English use, Coby carries the interpretation “he who supplants.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Cobi connects to the Jacob name family through Coby. Jacob is the English and Dutch form of the Hebrew Yaakov. James belongs to the same older name family, despite looking quite different in English.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
Cobi connects to the Jacob name family through Coby. The shared background comes through Jacob: The link with Hebrew akev, “heel,” comes from Genesis 25:26: Jacob is born holding his older twin Esau’s heel. In Genesis 27:36, Esau connects the name with being supplanted after Jacob gains his birthright and their father’s blessing. These episodes explain the traditional meanings; they do not settle how the name first arose.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1968. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Cobi connects to the Jacob name family through Coby. The history of Jacob gives this family its wider story. In Genesis, Jacob is the son of Isaac and Rebecca and the father of twelve sons associated with the twelve tribes of Israel. His name has a long history in Jewish and Christian communities. The related name James developed through a different Late Latin form, Iacomus, eventually becoming distinct from Jacob in English.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Cobi through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 949
- 684 boys · 265 girls
- Most popular year
- 2020
- 47 babies
- 2025
- 22
- #7,287 for boys · #8,985 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −3%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 11 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 7,287 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 15.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 36 in 1999. It also appeared in 11 birth records for girls in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 817 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Cobi
- Cobi JonesAmerican soccer playerborn 1970
- Cobi CrispinAustralian wheelchair basketball playerborn 1988
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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