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Bobby Name Meaning & Historical Trends

Bobby

Pronunciation: BAH-bee

Meaning Bright fame Gender Boy
BOYS RANK
#1,097
TREND
26
GIRLS RANK
#8,448
TREND
1,929
Peak Years
1937, 1936, 1935
Lowest Years
1907, 1908, 1906
Energy Archetype
Emotional & Intuitive

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of boys named Bobby in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Bobby

  • Decades of popularity: Bobby stayed in the U.S. top 100 for 50 consecutive years, from 1927 through 1976.
  • More than 324 thousand babies named Bobby: U.S. records list 324,718 babies given the name Bobby from 1880 through 2025. Even 9,675 girls received the name Bobby - about 1 girl for every 33 boys.

What Does the Name Bobby Mean?

Bobby is an English familiar form of the name Robert and shares its meaning: "bright fame." Robert comes from a Germanic name, recorded in Old French as Robert, formed from the elements hrōþi ("fame," "glory") and berht ("bright," "shining"). The literal sense is shining or famous renown. Bobby adds the affectionate English ending -y to the short form Bob, so it is a diminutive of Robert rather than a name with a separate origin of its own.

Bobby Name History & Origins

The Germanic ancestor of Robert, something like Hrōþiberht, passed into medieval France as the Old French Robert. It reached England with the Normans after 1066 and became one of the most common men's names of the Middle Ages, borne by rulers and saints. That wide use produced many short, familiar forms.

In Middle English, one common way to make a nickname was to change the first letter of a short form, often producing a rhyming pair. Thus Rob also appeared as Bob, much as William gave Bill and Richard gave Dick. The affectionate ending -y or -ie was then added to these short forms, giving Bobby, also spelled Bobbie. Over time Bobby came to be used as a given name in its own right, not only as a nickname for a Robert.

Separately, bobby became a British term for a police officer. It refers to Sir Robert Peel, whose Metropolitan Police force was set up in London in 1829 and whose officers were nicknamed after him. That sense belongs to the common noun, not to the personal name, though both trace back to Robert.

How Popular is the Name Bobby?

Bobby remained among the top 100 boy names in the U.S. from 1927 to 1976. Its highest annual birth count was in 1937, and people born that year turn 89 in 2026.

U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.

Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.

Famous People Named Bobby

Bobby Brown
Bobby Brown

Explore Name Lists Featuring Bobby

Carl appears in several baby name collections based on U.S. popularity records, naming trends, and name characteristics. Explore these lists to discover other names with similar histories, styles, or features.

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How the Name Bobby Shapes Your Personality and Life?

You can go to great heights and equally great depths. You are emotional and fixed in your opinions. You are hospitable, sentimental, often psychic, sometimes moody. You are ruled by love and the lack of it and feel a need to be encouraged and appreciated. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.

You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.

✦ Bobby's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Bobby's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.
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