# Kobe (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/kobe/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkoʊˌbi/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 23,126 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 22,513 / 613 (3% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 2,427, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Japanese 神(こう)戸(べ) (Kōbe).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 14 | 8,433 |
| 2012 | 13 | 8,901 |
| 2013 | 14 | 8,375 |
| 2014 | 14 | 8,302 |
| 2015 | 7 | 13,801 |
| 2016 | 20 | 6,302 |
| 2017 | 17 | 6,962 |
| 2018 | 11 | 9,508 |
| 2019 | 18 | 6,570 |
| 2020 | 57 | 2,871 |
| 2021 | 60 | 2,837 |
| 2022 | 51 | 3,192 |
| 2023 | 41 | 3,744 |
| 2024 | 41 | 3,727 |
| 2025 | 39 | 3,808 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 555 | 477 |
| 2012 | 526 | 506 |
| 2013 | 553 | 494 |
| 2014 | 524 | 532 |
| 2015 | 465 | 594 |
| 2016 | 583 | 513 |
| 2017 | 533 | 531 |
| 2018 | 481 | 575 |
| 2019 | 507 | 556 |
| 2020 | 1,518 | 239 |
| 2021 | 1,117 | 298 |
| 2022 | 851 | 381 |
| 2023 | 755 | 421 |
| 2024 | 790 | 410 |
| 2025 | 578 | 519 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 81 | 464 |
| 2012 | 83 | 473 |
| 2013 | 81 | 475 |
| 2014 | 90 | 449 |
| 2015 | 76 | 506 |
| 2016 | 82 | 493 |
| 2017 | 53 | 661 |
| 2018 | 91 | 449 |
| 2019 | 125 | 356 |
| 2020 | 245 | 205 |
| 2021 | 218 | 231 |
| 2022 | 202 | 238 |
| 2023 | 185 | 254 |
| 2024 | 165 | 278 |
| 2025 | 112 | 372 |

## People named Kobe

- Kobe Bryant, American basketball player (1978–2020)
- Kobe Tai, American pornographic actress
- Kobe Goossens, Belgian cyclist
- Kobe Brown, American basketball player (born 2000)
- Kobe Bufkin, American basketball player (born 2003)
- Kobe Sanders, American basketball player (born 2002)
- Kobe Vleminckx, Belgian athlete

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.