Fun Facts About the Name Kobe
- More than 23 thousand babies named Kobe: U.S. records list 23,114 babies given the name Kobe from 1880 through 2025. Even 613 girls received the name Kobe - about 1 girl for every 37 boys.
What Does the Name Kobe Mean?
Kobe is an English given name taken from the Japanese city of Kobe, written 神戸. The two characters are 神 (kami, "god" or "spirit") and 戸 (to, "door"), and taken one by one they give the familiar rendering "god's door" or "door of the gods."
The older sense behind those same characters is different. The place was long called Kanbe, a name built from 神 plus an old element written 戸 (be), which named a group of households bound to a particular service. Here it referred to households attached to a Shinto shrine, so the name meant something like "shrine households" - the people who belonged to a shrine, not a gateway. "Kobe" is one reading of the same characters, and it became the usual name of the city.
The name is not related to the similar-sounding Hebrew nickname Kobi or Koby (קובי), a short form of Yaakov (Jacob) that is common in Israel. The resemblance between the two is coincidental.
Kobe Name History & Origins
The name belongs first to the city of Kobe on Osaka Bay in western Japan. The locality was known in earlier centuries as Kanbe or Kambe, and the reading Kobe came to be used for the same characters. The harbor there, called Hyōgo, was one of the ports Japan opened to foreign trade in the 1860s, and a foreign settlement grew beside it into the modern city; the municipality of Kobe was formally established in 1889. In Japan, Kobe is a place name rather than a customary personal name.
In the English-speaking world, Kobe is a recent given name, used mainly for boys. The most widely known bearer is the basketball player Kobe Bryant (1978 - 2020). His parents took the name from Kobe beef, the beef named after the Japanese city, after seeing it on a restaurant menu - an account he himself gave in interviews. The Hebrew nickname Kobi is a separate tradition and does not account for the English spelling and use of Kobe.
How Popular is the Name Kobe?
Kobe recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2001. Its best rank was #222 in 2001.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,808 | 39 | 0.0024% |
| 2024 | #3,719 | 41 | 0.0025% |
| 2023 | #3,739 | 41 | 0.0026% |
| 2022 | #3,188 | 51 | 0.0031% |
| 2021 | #2,837 | 60 | 0.0037% |
| 2020 | #2,868 | 57 | 0.0035% |
| 2019 | #6,567 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 2018 | #9,504 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2017 | #6,961 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2016 | #6,300 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2015 | #13,794 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2014 | #8,300 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2013 | #8,375 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2012 | #8,901 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2011 | #8,430 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2010 | #9,535 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2009 | #9,724 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2008 | #8,349 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2007 | #12,185 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2006 | #10,281 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #15,522 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2004 | #12,235 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2003 | #7,416 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2002 | #6,885 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2001 | #5,955 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2000 | #4,725 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1999 | #4,804 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 1998 | #7,802 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1997 | #7,081 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #519 | 578 | 0.0338% |
| 2024 | #409 | 787 | 0.0459% |
| 2023 | #418 | 755 | 0.0442% |
| 2022 | #381 | 851 | 0.0488% |
| 2021 | #298 | 1,116 | 0.0638% |
| 2020 | #239 | 1,515 | 0.0878% |
| 2019 | #557 | 506 | 0.0282% |
| 2018 | #574 | 481 | 0.0265% |
| 2017 | #531 | 533 | 0.0288% |
| 2016 | #513 | 583 | 0.0307% |
| 2015 | #594 | 465 | 0.0243% |
| 2014 | #535 | 522 | 0.0272% |
| 2013 | #494 | 552 | 0.0292% |
| 2012 | #506 | 526 | 0.0277% |
| 2011 | #478 | 554 | 0.0292% |
| 2010 | #428 | 645 | 0.0336% |
| 2009 | #419 | 687 | 0.0346% |
| 2008 | #403 | 730 | 0.0358% |
| 2007 | #471 | 573 | 0.0276% |
| 2006 | #540 | 469 | 0.0228% |
| 2005 | #544 | 444 | 0.0222% |
| 2004 | #416 | 625 | 0.0315% |
| 2003 | #265 | 1,213 | 0.0614% |
| 2002 | #244 | 1,392 | 0.0717% |
| 2001 | #222 | 1,552 | 0.0799% |
| 2000 | #238 | 1,432 | 0.0729% |
| 1999 | #323 | 860 | 0.0448% |
| 1998 | #263 | 1,104 | 0.0578% |
| 1997 | #553 | 350 | 0.0186% |
| 1996 | #1,271 | 87 | 0.0046% |
| 1995 | #6,199 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1989 | #8,636 | 5 | 0.0002% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Kobe Shapes Your Personality and Life?
EXTREMES in fortune, health and spirituality. You are very versatile, idealistic and intuitive. You either enjoy great success or suffer abject misery. The solution is service to others. Use your leadership abilities for humanity and not for self-glorification. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
You find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.
✦ Kobe's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Kobe's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.