Given name & surname
Koby
“woman from California”
Koby is a variant of Kobi. One American interpretation is “woman from California.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Koby is a variant of Kobi. One American interpretation is “woman from California.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Koby 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
Koby 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 1958. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Koby 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
Koby through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6,135
- 6,038 boys · 97 girls
- Most popular year
- 2000
- 419 babies
- 2025
- 66
- #2,174 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −20%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 66 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,174 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 22.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 411 in 2000. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (9). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 5,231 as a first name in 2020; 549 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.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Koby
- Koby BreaDominican-American basketball playerborn 2002
- Koby AltmanAmerican basketball executiveborn 1982
- Koby ArthurGhanaian footballerborn 1996
- Koby IsraeliteIsraeli musicianborn 1966
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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