Kobe
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- KO-bee
- Origin
- Japanese
- UK rank, 2025
- #386 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #518 for boys
Kobe is a boys' name of Japanese origin. In 2025 it ranked 386th for boys in the UK (121 babies) and 518th for boys in the US (578 babies).
What does Kobe mean?
Japanese: from the Japanese city of Kobe
The basketball star Kobe Bryant was named after Kobe beef, from the Japanese city of Kobe.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Kobe a girl's or a boy's name?
Kobe is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 121 boys in the UK and 39 girls and 578 boys in the US.
How popular is Kobe in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #386among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 121about 1 in 2,500 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 5% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 121 boys in the UK were named Kobe, making it the 386th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 208th. Its busiest year was 2020, with 267 boys.
2025 had fewer boys named Kobe than any year since 2018.
Half of all the boys named Kobe in the UK since 1996 were born between 2012 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 365 boys in the UK were given Kobe or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #175, up from #386 for this spelling alone.
Among boys in 2025, it was 372nd in England and Wales, 560th in Scotland and 344th in Northern Ireland.
Kobe in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 121 | #386 |
| 2024 | 184 | #281 |
| 2023 | 217 | #247 |
| 2022 | 215 | #246 |
| 2021 | 251 | #229 |
| 2020 | 267 | #208 |
| 2019 | 133 | #377 |
| 2018 | 97 | #471 |
| 2017 | 62 | #648 |
| 2016 | 88 | #510 |
| 2015 | 83 | #524 |
| 2014 | 104 | #435 |
| 2013 | 95 | #470 |
| 2012 | 93 | #472 |
| 2011 | 85 | #483 |
| 2010 | 68 | #560 |
| 2009 | 64 | #577 |
| 2008 | 60 | #602 |
| 2007 | 42 | #742 |
| 2006 | 46 | #674 |
| 2005 | 51 | #576 |
| 2004 | 50 | #565 |
| 2003 | 41 | #611 |
| 2002 | 31 | #692 |
| 2001 | 30 | #673 |
| 2000 | 14 | #1,113 |
| 1999 | 21 | #836 |
| 1998 | 42 | #518 |
| 1997 | 9 | #1,412 |
How popular is Kobe in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #518among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 578about 1 in 3,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 15% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 578 boys in the US were named Kobe, making it the 518th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 239th. Its busiest year was 2001, with 1,552 boys. It first appears in the records in 1989. 39 girls were also named Kobe in 2025 (3,779th for girls).
2025 had fewer boys named Kobe than any year since 2019.
Half of all the boys named Kobe in the US since 1880 were born between 2002 and 2019, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 740 boys in the US were given Kobe or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #435, up from #518 for this spelling alone.
Kobe in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 578 | #518 |
| 2024 | 790 | #410 |
| 2023 | 755 | #421 |
| 2022 | 851 | #381 |
| 2021 | 1,117 | #297 |
| 2020 | 1,518 | #239 |
| 2019 | 507 | #556 |
| 2018 | 481 | #575 |
| 2017 | 533 | #531 |
| 2016 | 583 | #512 |
| 2015 | 465 | #594 |
| 2014 | 524 | #532 |
| 2013 | 553 | #494 |
| 2012 | 526 | #506 |
| 2011 | 555 | #477 |
| 2010 | 645 | #428 |
| 2009 | 687 | #419 |
| 2008 | 730 | #403 |
| 2007 | 573 | #471 |
| 2006 | 469 | #538 |
| 2005 | 444 | #544 |
| 2004 | 625 | #415 |
| 2003 | 1,213 | #265 |
| 2002 | 1,392 | #244 |
| 2001 | 1,552 | #222 |
| 2000 | 1,432 | #238 |
| 1999 | 860 | #323 |
| 1998 | 1,104 | #263 |
| 1997 | 350 | #553 |
| 1996 | 87 | #1,263 |
| 1995 | 9 | #5,922 |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 5 | #7,898 |
Names like Kobe
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Kade Ayomide Kwame Achim Kamsiyochukwu Obi Oluwatamilore Boluwatife Oluwademilade Tobechukwu Kenechukwu Zion
Other spellings of Kobe
Names related to Kobe
More Japanese names
Kaizen Raiden Ren Akari Kenzo Ronin Kyomi Akira Yuna Emi Kiyomi Kairi Miya Kenji Reo Jiraiya
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Kobe: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kobe, updated 20 October 2026.