Boys' name · peaked in 2020
Kobe name popularity since 1925
23,126 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Kobe (2.7% girls, 97.3% boys). Half of them were born in 2009 or earlier, so the typical Kobe is about 17 years old in 2026. Kobe peaked in 2020 as the #239 name for boys, and it ranked #519 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 23,126
- Named Kobe, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #519
- for boys in 2025 (578 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 97.3% boys
- 613 girls · 22,513 boys
- Most popular in
- Oklahoma
- 1.83× its national share
Peak year is the year Kobe made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Kobe births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 2001. Measured as a share of all babies, Kobe peaked in 2020.
- Fastest rise: Between 1997 and 2002, Kobe became 3.9× more common, from 1 in 5,390 baby boys to 1 in 1,390.
- Steepest fall: Between 2001 and 2006, its share of baby boys fell by 71%, from 1 in 1,250 to 1 in 4,380.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Kobe's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Kobe.
Decade by decade
Babies named Kobe in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1970s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1980s | 0 | 5 | Under 5 |
| 1990s | 48 | 2,410 | #6,199 |
| 2000s | 136 | 9,117 | #544 |
| 2010s | 140 | 5,372 | #594 |
| 2020–25 | 289 | 5,609 | #519 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 boys got the name.
Generation fingerprint
57.9% of babies named Kobe from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Kobe is most popular
The index compares Kobe's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Kobe.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 1.83× | 524 |
| Utah | 1.79× | 334 |
| Tennessee | 1.64× | 755 |
| Arkansas | 1.63× | 368 |
| Louisiana | 1.61× | 635 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Kobe's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Kobe.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Kobe (2020).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data