Kobe
Feminine · “door of the gods”
Kobe is given to boys far more often — 22,513 boys against 613 girls since 1880. See Kobe as a boy name
Kobe is a Japanese port city and, in American use, a name that arrived through a restaurant menu — a basketball player was named for the beef, which is named for the city.
How old is the name Kobe?
Kobe first appears in US birth records in 1997 — 28 years ago. The typical Kobe is a kid of about 6 — this name's wave is very recent. About 600 people named Kobe are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kobe most popular?
Kobe peaked in 2021, reaching #2818 nationally. Today it ranks #3780, 962 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Kobe
Ours, offered as ours. The chain here is unusually easy to trace: a shrine near a harbor gave a district its name, the district gave the city its name, the city gave a style of beef its name, a restaurant menu gave an American basketball player his name, and the player gave the name to thousands of American children. Five steps, each documented, ending a long way from a Shinto shrine. It is also used for girls now, which is a sixth.
Meaningscholars disagree
door of the gods
The Japanese city's name is generally read from characters meaning a door and gods, referring to the households that served a nearby shrine. The American given name comes from the beef and the athlete rather than from Japanese naming; Kobe is not a Japanese personal name.
Pronouncing Kobe
KOH-bee
Two syllables, first stressed. Japanese gives KOH-beh, with a fuller final vowel.
Nicknames for Kobe
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1997
- Most girls named
- 202160 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2818reached in 2021
- Change vs 2024
- −4.9%39 in 2025, from 41
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Kobe in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kobe in Japanese — related form
- Kobi in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Virginia.
Kobes among us
people named Kobe are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 41,212 born in 2025 was named Kobe
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Neyda test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kobe's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Neyda climbed just as high around 2002, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Neyda's path sketches the road Kobe is walking now.
Kobe sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Kobe is headed
Kobe looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 15% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Kobe beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kobe in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters and two syllables, very quick to write.
- A real city with a documented history behind the word.
- It works for a girl or a boy, which is useful before a birth.
- The basketball association is total and the name reads as a boy's because of it.
- It is not a Japanese personal name, which Japanese speakers will notice.
- Kobe, Kobi and Koby are all in use and none is dominant.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Kobe
Feminine · #3780 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kobes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Kobe are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kobe in 2025?
- Kobe ranks #3780 among US girl names in 2025, with 39 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kobe?
- About 1 in every 41,212 US girls born in 2025 was named Kobe — 39 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kobe with classmates?
- Kobe will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kobe
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kimberlyn#3780 · Jonah#3780 · Aine#3780 · Jakayla#3780 · Shriya#3780 · Analeigh#3780 · Daliyah#3780 · Jamia#3780
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kobe? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kobe and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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