1 German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from a derivative of the personal name Jakob or Yakov ( see Jacob ).2 German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German Kober ‘basket’, Middle High German kober, hence a metonymic occupational name for a basket maker or perhaps a nickname for someone who carried a basket on his back.3 German (Köber): habitational name for someone from a place called Köben.