How in the world did Kobe Bryant get his name?

Kobe Bean Bryant has one of the most unique and identifiable celebrity names across the various fields of entertainment.

Reading Kobe Bryant’s name aloud, it feels like each part of it has a story of its own. It’s not every day that you see Kobe and Bean be part of someone’s legal name.

Etymological curiosity has driven us to look deep into the origins of Kobe’s name. What could be the possibilities, though?

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Kobe could be derived from a word of Hebrew origin which means “cunning”. It could also be the name of a place in Japan (more on that later). The word Kobe is also associated with the name ‘Jakob’ or ‘Jacob’ in parts of Europe.

In Japanese culture, it also derives itself from the term for the private residence of Shinto priests.

What is the actual origin of Kobe Bryant’s name though?

In a very anticlimactic manner, it would appear that there wasn’t that much thought or etymological processing that went into naming Kobe. If you are a fan of the occasional bite of steak, you may be familiar with the preparation – Kobe beef.

Bryant’s parents apparently were huge fans of the steak and even more so of the name. Bryant admitted in an interview that his name comes from a simple stream of thought and even said “My parents must have been smoking some really crazy sh*t” while describing the process of naming him.

The Bryants probably did not envisage that their son would become a global icon. There probably would have been more intense discussion rather than running down a restaurant menu if that was the case.

With Kobe becoming a popular individual, the popularity of Kobe beef grew too. It even led to a lawsuit!

What did Kobe Bryant sue the entire city of Kobe and its beef produce for?

In 2010, Kobe and his legal team sought back compensation and the right to name the beef to something apart from Kobe. This arose from the assumption that the beef is well regarded only because of its association with the basketball superstar.

While this might sound contradictory, coming from the fact that Kobe himself was named after the beef, it made for a lengthy legal proceeding. When questioned about alternate names, Kobe even went on to joke “Maybe they should call it Shaq beef, since it’s really fatty.”

Kobe’s attorney, when asked about the lawsuit, said: “Kobe gets paid a lot of money by a lot of major companies to have his name associated with their products, and now this Japanese beef is reaping the benefits of all his hard work. I mean, if Gatorade had a flavor named Kobe and wasn’t paying him for it, we’d be suing them too.”

While it sounds absurd, the fact that a multimillionaire and his expensive legal team pursued the matter suggests that there was a legitimate concern in Kobe’s camp regarding the use of the name.

Further details of the matter remain unavailable to the public. This suggests that it was either settled or dismissed by the presiding legal officers. It is more likely that the latter was the outcome here.

While the act of naming the star itself was anti-climactic, the saga that followed wasn’t.

What came first, the beef or the baller?

Also read: Kobe Bryant’s Team Beat Their Competitors by a Whallop, Showing Off Just How Much They Had Improved