boys' name ★ peaked 1935

Bobby

Meaning A diminutive of the male given name Robert Gender Boy · 3% girls Rank 2025 #1,097 Trend ↓ Falling 27%

A diminutive of the male given name Robert.

Rank 2025
#1,097
among boys · ↑17 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
207
named Bobby · +3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 8,759
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1935
7,971 babies
All-time total
324,728
#112 all-time among boys
First recorded
1900
in Social Security records

Bobby popularity over time

324,728 babies have been named Bobby since 1900, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s 34 53 87 9 – #746
1910s 251 411 662 66 +661% #629
1920s 1,173 13,880 15,053 1,505 +2174% #50
1930s 2,244 69,419 71,663 7,166 +376% #23
1940s 1,555 58,890 60,445 6,045 -16% #30
1950s 1,218 53,281 54,499 5,450 -10% #65
1960s 1,021 46,390 47,411 4,741 -13% #73
1970s 1,161 29,077 30,238 3,024 -36% #79
1980s 680 22,025 22,705 2,271 -25% #109
1990s 210 11,384 11,594 1,159 -49% #185
2000s 59 5,708 5,767 577 -50% #364
2010s 31 3,281 3,312 331 -43% #552
2020s (to 2025) 38 1,254 1,292 215 -35% #850

Where Bobby is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 187 0.11 outside top 500
2027 180 0.11 outside top 500
2028 174 0.10 outside top 500
2029 169 0.10 outside top 500
2030 165 0.10 outside top 500

Where Bobby is most popular

Boys named Bobby per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.114 per 1,000. Strongest in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Bobby born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Mississippi 19 0.334 +193%
Tennessee 44 0.244 +114%
Georgia 58 0.229 +101%
Kentucky 22 0.219 +92%
Oklahoma 19 0.215 +88%
Alabama 23 0.210 +84%
North Carolina 50 0.196 +72%
Louisiana 20 0.196 +71%
Missouri 26 0.188 +64%
Arkansas 11 0.174 +52%
Texas 128 0.145 +27%
South Carolina 13 0.126 +10%
California 112 0.123 +7%
Florida 58 0.122 +7%
Ohio 26 0.098 -14%
Colorado 12 0.093 -19%
Indiana 12 0.075 -34%
Virginia 13 0.069 -40%
Washington 11 0.067 -41%
Oregon 5 0.066 -42%
Arizona 10 0.061 -46%
New York 24 0.055 -51%
Michigan 10 0.049 -57%
Illinois 11 0.043 -62%
Alaska – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Bobby

Bobby is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #1,097 in 2025 with 195 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1900, 324,728 American babies have been named Bobby. Its peak came in 1935, when 7,971 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1930s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Bobby stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Bobby?

The median living Bobby is about 62 years old; half are between 48 and 74. An estimated 194 thousand people named Bobby are alive in the United States today.

median 62 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Bobby year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 12 #8,448 195 #1,097
2024 9 #10,411 192 #1,114
2023 – – 169 #1,192
2022 10 #9,806 214 #1,033
2021 7 #12,429 216 #1,016
2020 – – 268 #850
2019 8 #11,542 250 #880
2018 7 #12,706 272 #823
2017 5 #16,290 298 #786
2016 – – 322 #754
2015 – – 328 #740
2014 – – 313 #754
2013 – – 363 #665
2012 6 #15,275 331 #714
2011 – – 346 #683
2010 5 #17,455 458 #552
2009 5 #17,746 458 #576
2008 6 #15,717 515 #524
2007 – – 523 #503
2006 6 #15,439 546 #483
2005 – – 505 #490
2004 8 #11,778 573 #452
2003 8 #11,478 559 #451
2002 6 #13,860 644 #399
2001 8 #11,164 655 #389
2000 12 #8,105 730 #364
1995 20 #4,864 1,046 #269
1990 29 #3,629 1,677 #185
1985 50 #2,105 2,094 #135
1980 108 #1,218 2,724 #109
1975 104 #1,119 2,772 #93
1970 147 #894 3,636 #87
1965 87 #1,135 4,588 #80
1960 102 #1,064 5,656 #73
1955 115 #916 5,223 #75
1950 129 #762 5,019 #65
1945 129 #642 5,052 #53
1940 149 #568 6,882 #30
1935 245 #416 7,726 #24
1930 262 #405 5,181 #41
1925 111 #698 1,085 #150
1920 53 #1,021 170 #468
1915 24 #1,483 42 #965
1910 16 #1,116 8 #1,209
1905 – – 11 #746
1900 5 #1,965 7 #1,061
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Bobby

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Bobby Cannavale Bobby Cannavale American actor (born 1970) Contemporary
  2. 2 Bobby Fischer Bobby Fischer American chess grandmaster (1943–2008) Contemporary
  3. 3 Bobby Brown Bobby Brown American singer (born 1969) Contemporary
  4. 4 Bobby Darin Bobby Darin American musician, singer and actor (1936–1973) Contemporary
  5. 5 Bobby Charlton Bobby Charlton English footballer (1937–2023) Contemporary
  6. 6 Bobby Sands Bobby Sands Irish Provisional IRA member (1954–1981) Contemporary
  7. 7 Bobby Robson Bobby Robson English footballer and manager (1933–2009) Contemporary
  8. 8 Bobby Moore Bobby Moore English footballer (1941–1993) Contemporary
  9. 9 Bobby Lashley Bobby Lashley American wrestler & mixed martial artist (born 1976) Contemporary
  10. 10 Bobby Driscoll Bobby Driscoll American actor (1937–1968) Contemporary
  11. 11 Bobby Seale Bobby Seale Co-founder of the Black Panther Party (born 1936) Contemporary
  12. 12 Bobby Womack Bobby Womack American singer-songwriter (1944–2014) Contemporary
  13. 13 Bobby Orr Bobby Orr Canadian ice hockey player (born 1948) Contemporary
  14. 14 Bobby Jones Bobby Jones American amateur golfer (1902–1971) Contemporary
  15. 15 Bobby Heenan Bobby Heenan American wrestling commentator and manager (1944–2017) Contemporary
  16. 16 Bobby McFerrin Bobby McFerrin American singer and conductor (born 1950) Contemporary
  17. 17 Bobby Vinton Bobby Vinton American singer (born 1935) Contemporary
  18. 18 Bobby Riggs Bobby Riggs American tennis player (1918–1995) Contemporary
  19. 19 Bobby Hull Bobby Hull Canadian ice hockey player (1939–2023) Contemporary
  20. 20 Bobby Vee Bobby Vee American singer (1943–2016) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Bobby, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Bobby?

The median living Bobby is about 62 years old. Half of all living Bobbys are between 48 and 74 years old.

How many people named Bobby are alive today?

An estimated 194 thousand people named Bobby are alive in the United States, based on 324,728 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Bobby mean?

A diminutive of the male given name Robert.

How popular is the name Bobby in 2025?

Bobby ranked #1,097 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 195 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Bobby?

324,728 babies have been named Bobby in the United States since 1900, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Bobby most popular?

Bobby peaked in 1935, when 7,971 newborns received the name.

Is Bobby a boy or girl name?

Bobby is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 97% of babies with the name.

Is the name Bobby rising or falling?

Bobby is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Bobby become more popular?

Bobby is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 165 boys named Bobby in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Bobby?

Well-known people named Bobby include Bobby Cannavale (actor), Bobby Fischer (chess player), Bobby Brown (singer).

Names like Bobby

Names that sound and feel close to Bobby: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Bobby with similar names → More names starting with B →