Top 10 Baby Names Inspired by Sports Stars

Teachers will be calling on a lot more Kobes in about five years. As KTLA reports, the name "Kobe" tops the list of baby names presumably inspired by sports stars between 2000 and 2021. The list, compiled by Betsperts, found that more than 17,000 infants born in the US in that time period were given the same name as the NBA great, who was killed in a helicopter crash in January 2020. After his death, parents' selection of "Kobe" saw a whopping 201% spike from the previous year. That percentage increase was topped by none other than "Tiger" (for Tiger Woods), which experienced a 225% jump between 2009 and 2010. Here are the top 10 names:

1. Kobe Bryant, "Kobe," 17,071
2. David Beckham, "Beckham," 12,211
3. Serena Williams, "Serena," 10,620
4. Sidney Crosby, "Crosby," 4,397
5. Carli Lloyd, "Carli," 4,102
6. Floyd Mayweather, "Floyd," 2,144
7. Venus Williams, "Venus," 1,876
8. Marshawn Lynch, "Marshawn" 1,719
9. LeBron James, "LeBron," 1,112
10. Tiger Woods, "Tiger," 810

See the full rankings, along with breakdowns in specific areas. (Or check out more lists.)