Kobe

What Kobe means

Meaning not yet sourced. Wiktionary has no word-by-word meaning for Kobe yet, and we don’t write our own.

Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1989, with 5 babies Worked out from the official US and England & Wales counts, not a meaning.

How popular is Kobe?

US: Rising: up from #594 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #506 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2020, when 1,518 boys got the name (#239 that year). First in the US records in 1989.

How common

• About 1 in 2,955 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 2,428 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 3,928 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in MS (1.11 per 1,000 boys), NV (1.06 per 1,000 boys), IN (0.69 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Kobe is #518 in the US and #372 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 93.7% of US babies named Kobe were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Gabe22 US · 4 E&W
• Cobe21 US · 3 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Kobe

Boys

• Noah#2Editor’s note Steady in the US: #1 in 2015 and #2 in 2025. About 1 in 84 US boys in the 2025 records
• Griffin#222Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #222 vs #1,035 in 2025
• Isaiah#57Editor’s note Down from #49 in 2015 to #57 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 320 US boys in the 2025 records
• Jack#15Short form of John, possibly meaning “God is gracious”^*
• Cade#248“lump, swelling”^*
• Elijah#7“Yahweh is my god”^*

For a sister

• Delaney#242“from the alder grove”^*
• Isabelle#166Variant of Elizabeth, meaning “my God is an oath”^*
• Kennedy#85“head + ugly”^*
• Madelyn#70Editor’s note Down from #59 in 2015 to #70 in 2025 in the US
• Maya#62Editor’s note Steady in the US: #68 in 2015 and #62 in 2025. About 1 in 430 US girls in the 2025 records
• Autumn#88Editor’s note Down from #69 in 2015 to #88 in 2025 in the US

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Kobe’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.