Kobi is the everyday Hebrew short form of Yaakov, the biblical Jacob, whose name is traditionally read as "holder of the heel" or "supplanter". In the United States it also serves as a spelling of Kobe, the Japanese port city that became a first name through Kobe Bryant. Kobi stood at number 1276 in 2000, dropped to number 2837 in 2015, recovered to number 1679 in 2024 and ranks number 2341 in 2025.