The name "Kobe," as a first name, really was unknown before a certain young Bryant came along.

Then the name just took off. Check out this graph of how many birth certificates have been registered with the name "Kobe." It went from being an unknown name to being the 268th most popular name in America.

Until 2005. Some bad PR ("the Colorado incident")  took that name right out of the top 500.

More recently, however, it's bouncing back. If he keeps playing like he has been playing, and if his marketing mojo persists, some day in 2014, you'll go to your local playground, and call your kid over by yelling "Kobe," and three or four kids will look up.

(Thanks for the link, Brian.)