Given name & surname
Kobe
“woman from California”
Kobe is a variant of Kobi. One American interpretation is “woman from California.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Kobe is a variant of Kobi. One American interpretation is “woman from California.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Kobe connects to the Jacob name family through Kobi. 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
Kobe connects to the Jacob name family through Kobi. 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 1989. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Kobe connects to the Jacob name family through Kobi. 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
Kobe through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 23,126
- 22,513 boys · 613 girls
- Most popular year
- 2020
- 1,575 babies
- 2025
- 617
- #519 for boys · #3,808 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +15%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 578 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 519 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 12.9% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,552 in 2001. It also appeared in 39 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (60). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 15,211 as a first name in 2020; 778 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.
Kobe’s family of names
In Dutch usage, Kobe is a diminutive of Jacob. Kobe has a related form in Kobi. In French usage, Kobe has a related form in Kobé.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Kobe
- Kobe BryantAmerican basketball player (1978–2020)
- Kobe GoossensBelgian cyclistborn 1996
- Kobe BrownAmerican basketball player (born 2000)
- Kobe BufkinAmerican basketball player (born 2003)
- Kobe SandersAmerican basketball player (born 2002)
- Kobe VleminckxBelgian athleteborn 1998
- Kobe FranklinCanadian soccer playerborn 2003
- Kobe CorbanieBelgian football playerborn 2005
- Kobe Hernandez-FosterAmerican soccer playerborn 2002
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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