Cobi
A masculine name of Scandinavian origin meaning "lively" or "resilient".
Name Census estimates that about 911 living Americans carry the first name Cobi. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 72.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Cobi today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cobi births was 2020 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cobi. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
911
~ 1 in 376,240 Americans
Peak year
2020
47 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,215
Tracked since 1968
Gender
Gender distribution for Cobi
Cobi is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 927 total registrations, 673 (72.6%) were male and 254 (27.4%) were female.
Cobi as a male name
- Ranked #6,215 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1999 (36 births)
Cobi as a female name
- Ranked #11,294 in 2024
- 8 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (19 births)
Popularity
Cobi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cobi from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 255 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Cobi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cobi by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Cobi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cobis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Florida, Michigan recorded the most babies named Cobi, while Texas, Michigan, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cobi
The name Cobi is believed to have its origins in the Hebrew language, deriving from the root word "kav," which means "line" or "path." It is thought to have first emerged in ancient Judaic cultures during the early centuries of the common era.
In some interpretations, Cobi is considered a diminutive or shortened form of the Hebrew name Jacob, which itself has biblical roots and translates to "supplanter" or "one who follows." This name connection may have contributed to Cobi's adoption and usage among Jewish communities in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cobi can be found in the writings of the 11th-century Jewish philosopher and scholar, Solomon ibn Gabirol, who lived in Spain and is sometimes referred to as Avicebron or Avicebrol. Though his given name was not Cobi, some historical records suggest he may have used it as a nickname or variant spelling.
In the 13th century, a renowned Jewish philosopher and Talmudic scholar named Nachmanides, whose full name was Moshe ben Nachman Gerondi, was also known by the nickname "Cobi" or "Cobi Nachman." He was a prominent figure in the Jewish communities of Spain and is remembered for his influential biblical commentaries and teachings.
During the 15th century, a Jewish scholar and physician named Cobi Levi lived in Italy and wrote extensively on medical topics, including a treatise on the plague. His works were widely circulated and contributed to the advancement of medical knowledge in Renaissance Europe.
Another notable figure bearing the name Cobi was Cobi ben Yosef, a 17th-century Jewish scholar and kabbalist from Tzfat, in present-day Israel. He was renowned for his expertise in Jewish mysticism and authored several texts on kabbalistic teachings and practices.
In more recent history, Cobi Jones, an American soccer player, gained fame as a member of the United States national team and played in multiple World Cup tournaments in the 1990s and early 2000s. He was born in 1970 and is considered one of the most accomplished American soccer players of his generation.
People
Cobi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cobi as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Cobi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cobi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 911 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cobi going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 376,240 US residents.
Is Cobi a common name?
We classify Cobi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 927 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cobi most popular?
The single biggest year for Cobi was 2020, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cobi is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cobi a male name?
Yes, 72.6% of people registered as Cobi in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.