Bobby
Bobby was given to 195 boys in 2025, #1,097 among boys’ names; 324,728 Americans have been recorded with it since 1900 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 180,000 Americans named Bobby and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (55% of everyone recorded); the median is 62 years old and half are between 47 and 73.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Bobby by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Bobby mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Bobby is “a diminutive of the male given name Robert.”
Also “a diminutive of the female given name Roberta.”
/ˈbɑbi/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Bobby?
#1,097 among boys’ names, 2025
Bobby fell from #740 in 2015 to #1,097 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.17 to 0.11 per 1,000.
7,971 babies in 1935, the peak
Bobby peaked in 1935, when 7,971 babies were given it (7,726 boys, #24 among boys’ names). The 207 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 3% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 195 | #1,097 | 0.11 |
| 2024 | 192 | #1,114 | 0.11 |
| 2023 | 169 | #1,192 | 0.10 |
| 2022 | 214 | #1,033 | 0.12 |
| 2021 | 216 | #1,016 | 0.12 |
| 2020 | 268 | #850 | 0.16 |
| 2019 | 250 | #880 | 0.14 |
| 2018 | 272 | #823 | 0.15 |
| 2017 | 298 | #786 | 0.16 |
| 2016 | 322 | #754 | 0.17 |
Every recorded year (123)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 328 | #740 | 0.17 |
| 2014 | 313 | #754 | 0.16 |
| 2013 | 363 | #665 | 0.19 |
| 2012 | 331 | #714 | 0.17 |
| 2011 | 346 | #683 | 0.18 |
| 2010 | 458 | #552 | 0.24 |
| 2009 | 458 | #576 | 0.23 |
| 2008 | 515 | #524 | 0.25 |
| 2007 | 523 | #503 | 0.25 |
| 2006 | 546 | #483 | 0.27 |
| 2005 | 505 | #490 | 0.25 |
| 2004 | 573 | #452 | 0.29 |
| 2003 | 559 | #451 | 0.28 |
| 2002 | 644 | #399 | 0.33 |
| 2001 | 655 | #389 | 0.34 |
| 2000 | 730 | #364 | 0.37 |
| 1999 | 729 | #359 | 0.38 |
| 1998 | 835 | #325 | 0.44 |
| 1997 | 913 | #299 | 0.48 |
| 1996 | 932 | #290 | 0.49 |
| 1995 | 1,046 | #269 | 0.55 |
| 1994 | 1,136 | #255 | 0.59 |
| 1993 | 1,221 | #238 | 0.62 |
| 1992 | 1,387 | #221 | 0.69 |
| 1991 | 1,508 | #206 | 0.75 |
| 1990 | 1,677 | #185 | 0.82 |
| 1989 | 1,759 | #172 | 0.88 |
| 1988 | 1,715 | #163 | 0.90 |
| 1987 | 1,889 | #147 | 1.0 |
| 1986 | 2,105 | #130 | 1.1 |
| 1985 | 2,094 | #135 | 1.1 |
| 1984 | 2,119 | #129 | 1.2 |
| 1983 | 2,357 | #118 | 1.3 |
| 1982 | 2,605 | #113 | 1.4 |
| 1981 | 2,658 | #110 | 1.5 |
| 1980 | 2,724 | #109 | 1.5 |
| 1979 | 2,584 | #106 | 1.5 |
| 1978 | 2,398 | #109 | 1.5 |
| 1977 | 2,539 | #105 | 1.5 |
| 1976 | 2,644 | #96 | 1.7 |
| 1975 | 2,772 | #93 | 1.8 |
| 1974 | 2,792 | #92 | 1.8 |
| 1973 | 2,889 | #93 | 1.9 |
| 1972 | 3,171 | #90 | 2.0 |
| 1971 | 3,652 | #79 | 2.1 |
| 1970 | 3,636 | #87 | 2.0 |
| 1969 | 3,652 | #82 | 2.0 |
| 1968 | 3,628 | #81 | 2.1 |
| 1967 | 3,779 | #83 | 2.2 |
| 1966 | 4,068 | #82 | 2.3 |
| 1965 | 4,588 | #80 | 2.5 |
| 1964 | 5,082 | #73 | 2.6 |
| 1963 | 5,212 | #75 | 2.6 |
| 1962 | 5,323 | #78 | 2.6 |
| 1961 | 5,402 | #76 | 2.5 |
| 1960 | 5,656 | #73 | 2.7 |
| 1959 | 5,677 | #71 | 2.7 |
| 1958 | 5,735 | #69 | 2.7 |
| 1957 | 5,617 | #78 | 2.6 |
| 1956 | 5,358 | #77 | 2.5 |
| 1955 | 5,223 | #75 | 2.5 |
| 1954 | 5,507 | #72 | 2.7 |
| 1953 | 5,179 | #74 | 2.6 |
| 1952 | 4,960 | #77 | 2.6 |
| 1951 | 5,006 | #77 | 2.7 |
| 1950 | 5,019 | #65 | 2.8 |
| 1949 | 5,120 | #67 | 2.9 |
| 1948 | 5,581 | #62 | 3.2 |
| 1947 | 6,116 | #60 | 3.3 |
| 1946 | 5,771 | #53 | 3.6 |
| 1945 | 5,052 | #53 | 3.8 |
| 1944 | 5,410 | #50 | 4.0 |
| 1943 | 6,121 | #46 | 4.3 |
| 1942 | 6,248 | #43 | 4.5 |
| 1941 | 6,589 | #35 | 5.4 |
| 1940 | 6,882 | #30 | 5.9 |
| 1939 | 7,057 | #29 | 6.4 |
| 1938 | 7,498 | #27 | 6.8 |
| 1937 | 7,745 | #24 | 7.3 |
| 1936 | 7,735 | #24 | 7.5 |
| 1935 | 7,726 | #24 | 7.4 |
| 1934 | 7,532 | #23 | 7.3 |
| 1933 | 6,490 | #26 | 6.5 |
| 1932 | 6,597 | #30 | 6.3 |
| 1931 | 5,858 | #32 | 5.6 |
| 1930 | 5,181 | #41 | 4.7 |
| 1929 | 3,925 | #50 | 3.6 |
| 1928 | 2,972 | #65 | 2.7 |
| 1927 | 2,286 | #91 | 2.0 |
| 1926 | 1,595 | #116 | 1.4 |
| 1925 | 1,085 | #150 | 1.0 |
| 1924 | 733 | #191 | 0.65 |
| 1923 | 470 | #260 | 0.43 |
| 1922 | 370 | #293 | 0.34 |
| 1921 | 274 | #365 | 0.25 |
| 1920 | 170 | #468 | 0.16 |
| 1919 | 93 | #629 | 0.09 |
| 1918 | 81 | #701 | 0.08 |
| 1917 | 62 | #799 | 0.07 |
| 1916 | 49 | #897 | 0.06 |
| 1915 | 42 | #965 | 0.05 |
| 1914 | 36 | #908 | 0.05 |
| 1913 | 14 | #1,450 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 14 | #1,279 | 0.03 |
| 1911 | 12 | #990 | 0.05 |
| 1910 | 8 | #1,208 | 0.04 |
| 1909 | 9 | #1,031 | 0.05 |
| 1908 | 6 | #1,234 | 0.04 |
| 1907 | 5 | #1,365 | 0.03 |
| 1906 | 7 | #1,017 | 0.05 |
| 1905 | 11 | #746 | 0.08 |
| 1904 | 8 | #891 | 0.06 |
| 1900 | 7 | #1,060 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Bobby a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 324,728 Americans recorded as Bobby, 3% are girls and 97% boys. In 2025 it went to 12 girls and 195 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Bobby: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Bobby, and how old are they?
180,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 55% of the 324,728 Americans ever recorded as Bobby. The median Bobby alive today is 62 years old; half are between 47 and 73.
The 2020 Census counted 163,860 people named Bobby (4,640 women and girls, 159,220 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 208,976 born in the U.S. The Census count is 22% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 23,200 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 69,400 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 46,800 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 27,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 9,260 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,430 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Bobby born?
The states with the most babies named Bobby are Texas, North Carolina and Georgia, with 29% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 42,709 | #1,221 | 2.1× |
| North Carolina | 28,156 | #830 | 2.9× |
| Georgia | 22,918 | #678 | 2.6× |
| Tennessee | 22,612 | #785 | 3.0× |
| Alabama | 18,902 | #778 | 2.6× |
| Kentucky | 17,175 | #573 | 2.5× |
| Arkansas | 15,719 | not ranked | 3.5× |
| Oklahoma | 15,229 | #508 | 2.9× |
| Mississippi | 14,578 | not ranked | 2.7× |
| California | 13,191 | #1,017 | 0.5× |
Where Bobby is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Bobby is most over-represented in Arkansas: since 1910 it was given 3.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Bobby with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 456,431 babies since 1880, Bobby is the most given (71% of them). In 2025 it was given to 207 of their 412 babies (50%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Bobby
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Bobby and names like it
- Compare Bobby and BobbieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1930sBobby peaked in 1935.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Bobby since 1910.
- The top names of 1935The year the most babies were named Bobby.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Bobby alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with BMost given first.