Kobe
A winding, meandering path, typically referring to a famous Japanese beef.
Name Census estimates that about 22,246 living Americans carry the first name Kobe. It sits at #409 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (97.4% of registrations). The average person named Kobe today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kobe births was 2020 (1,572 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kobe. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Kobe is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 574 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Kobe is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
22K
~ 1 in 15,407 Americans
Peak year
2020
1,572 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#409
Tracked since 1989
Gender
Gender distribution for Kobe
Kobe leans heavily male at 97.4% of total registrations, but 574 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kobe as a male name
- Ranked #409 in 2024
- 787 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2001 (1,552 births)
Kobe as a female name
- Ranked #3,719 in 2024
- 41 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (60 births)
Popularity
Kobe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kobe from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 9,253 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Kobe remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kobe 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 Kobe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kobes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Kobe, while Wyoming, New Hampshire, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 422 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kobe
The name Kobe is of Japanese origin and can be traced back to the 8th century in Japan. It is derived from the Japanese word "kobe", which means "ancient stride" or "sacred steed". The name was likely given to children in ancient Japan with the hope that they would grow up to be strong and resilient like a mighty steed.
In the early 12th century, Kobe appeared as a place name in the Kamakura region of Japan. The city of Kobe, located in the Hyogo Prefecture, was named after a small village that existed in the area during that time period. It is believed that the village was named after a prominent local family who bore the surname Kobe.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Kobe was Kobe no Tsunehisa, a Japanese samurai warrior who lived in the late 12th century. He was a member of the Minamoto clan and played a significant role in the Genpei War, a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans for control of Japan.
In the 16th century, Kobe no Masamoto was a renowned Japanese swordsmith who lived in the Mino Province (present-day Gifu Prefecture). He was renowned for his exceptional craftsmanship and contributed to the development of the Japanese sword-making tradition.
Another notable figure with the name Kobe was Kobe Tsunayoshi, a Japanese daimyo (feudal lord) who ruled the Sendai Domain in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was known for his role in the Sendai Reformation, a series of reforms aimed at improving the economic and social conditions of his domain.
In the 19th century, Kobe Toshitsura was a Japanese educator and scholar who played a pivotal role in the modernization of Japan's education system during the Meiji Restoration. He was instrumental in introducing Western-style education to Japan and establishing several prominent schools and universities.
While the name Kobe has ancient roots in Japanese culture, it has also gained international recognition due to the fame of Kobe Bryant, the legendary American basketball player who tragically passed away in 2020. His name, which he shared with the Japanese city, helped to popularize the name globally, particularly in the United States.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Kobe
People
Kobe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kobe as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kobe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kobe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 22,246 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kobe 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 15,407 US residents.
Is Kobe a common name?
We classify Kobe as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22,497 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kobe most popular?
The single biggest year for Kobe was 2020, when 1,572 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kobe is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kobe a male name?
Yes, 97.4% of people registered as Kobe 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.