Given name & surname · also Hebrew
Coby
“the supplanter”·“he who supplants”·“heel grabber”
Coby is a feminine form of Jacob. Traditional interpretations include “heel grabber” and “supplanter”—someone who takes another’s place. Both come from the biblical narrative, while the name’s original linguistic derivation remains debated.
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Hebrew use, Coby carries the interpretation “the supplanter.” In English use, Coby carries the interpretation “he who supplants.” Coby is a feminine form of Jacob. Traditional interpretations include “heel grabber” and “supplanter”—someone who takes another’s place. Both come from the biblical narrative, while the name’s original linguistic derivation remains debated.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Hebrew and English naming traditions.
How it developed
Coby is used as a feminine counterpart of Jacob. Coby is a feminine form of Jacob. 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.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1941. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Coby is a feminine form of Jacob. 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
Coby through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 9,865
- 9,484 boys · 381 girls
- Most popular year
- 2001
- 522 babies
- 2025
- 84
- #1,874 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −8%
- Steady
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 99% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 84 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,874 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 7.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 516 in 2001. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (10). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 8,644 as a first name in 2020; 1,040 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Coby’s family of names
Coby is a feminine form of Jacob. Coby has a related form in Cobi. Coby is a form of Jacob.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Coby
- Coby BellAmerican actor and producerborn 1975
- Coby WhiteAmerican basketball player (born 2000)
- Coby MillerAmerican athletics competitor (born 1976)
- Coby KarlAmerican basketball player and coach (born 1983)
- Coby FleenerAmerican football playerborn 1988
- Coby DietrickAmerican basketball playerborn 1948
- Coby BryantAmerican football cornerbackborn 1999
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Coby, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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