How popular is the baby name Kobe in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, see baby names similar to Kobe and check out all the blog posts that mention the name Kobe.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Kobe

Number of Babies Named Kobe

Born in the U.S. Since 1880

Posts that Mention the Name Kobe

NBA-Inspired Baby Names

Late last year, SB Nation (the SB stands for “Sports Blogs”) ran an article on NBA-inspired baby names. I won’t summarize the whole thing here, but I will repost their graphic:

NBA baby names

And, in case it isn’t obvious..

  • Shaquille refers to Shaquille O’Neal
  • Kobe refers to Kobe Bryant
  • Kanye refers to Kanye West (he’s not in the NBA, but he did name his kid North West)
  • Carmelo refers to Carmelo Anthony
    • “The name saw a huge bump in popularity in 2011, which happens to be when Melo was traded to the Knicks. I do not think that’s a coincidence.” It’s not: the state that saw the biggest increase in the number of babies named Carmelo from 2010 to 2011 was New York, with a jump of 42 babies. Next-highest were CT and CA, both with just 15.
  • Amare refers to Amar’e Stoudemire
  • Kyrie refers to Kyrie Irving

Click below if you want to see more (including a long discussion of the name Jordan).

Source: A comprehensive guide to NBA baby names


The Baby Name LeBron – Not So Cool After All

I was just reading through the comments at the The All-LeBron Sound-off. I’m seeing disgust, outrage, devastation…these people are upset. (And they have good reason to be.)

Few babies were named LeBron before LeBron James signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. Since then, hundreds of babies have been given the name:

  • 2003: 42 babies named LeBron
  • 2004: 96
  • 2005: 90
  • 2006: 99
  • 2007: 110
  • 2008: 83
  • 2009: 97

I wonder how all the parents who named their sons LeBron have been feeling about that decision over the past week.

P.S Here are a couple of related posts, starring Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods.

The Pros and Cons of Kobe

I was just reading an article about the thousands of kids named Kobe in honor of NBA player Kobe Bryant.

What I didn’t like: “She’s going to play a sport or I will die trying.” Spoken by a sports-crazed mom about her 11-year-old daughter, Kobe, who “likes the originality of her name but didn’t inherit a sliver of her mother’s enthusiasm for the sport.”

What I did like: That the author didn’t gloss over the drawbacks of this name. He talked about mini-Kobes who were teased after the Lakers lost to the Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals. He mentioned the parents of mini-Kobes who experienced “second thoughts” about the name after Bryant was accused of rape in 2003.

If you know someone who is thinking about using Kobe as a baby name — or any distinctive celebrity name as a baby name — send them a link to the article: Naming kids Kobe becomes common.