Recorded 1920–1955 Boys' name Peak 1920 16 births

Obey — boys' name

16 babies named Obey in U.S. Social Security records since 1920, with the highest year being 1920. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1920s61940s51950s5
1920s
Peak decade

38% of everyone ever named Obey was born in this single decade.

1920
Single peak year

6 babies were named Obey in 1920 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Obey

The Social Security Administration has registered 16 babies named Obey between 1920 and 1955, spanning 36 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Obey currently falls outside the top 1,000 boys' names for 1955. The name reached its historical peak in 1920, when 6 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Obey performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 6 births during that ten-year window. Across the 3 decades of recorded activity, Obey shows a stable profile with only moderate drift from its peak decade.

No etymological entry is currently available for Obey in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 16 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Obey at a glance

Last recorded 1955

Total births

16

Since 1920

36 years of records

Peak year

1920

6 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 1955

Active since

1920

Recorded for 36 years

Last year on file: 1955

Obey popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1955–1920

Last recorded 1955
Peak year (1920)
6
Annual births at peak — across 36 years of records
4.555.566.5 195519431920 6

Obey by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
6 births that decade — 38% of Obey's all-time total
1920s61940s51950s5

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Obey?
16 babies have been named Obey since 1920. It was last recorded in 1955. The peak year was 1920 with 6 births.
When was Obey most popular?
Obey was most popular in the 1920s decade with 6 total births. The single peak year was 1920.
How long has the name Obey been used?
Obey has been recorded in Social Security data since 1920, spanning 36 years of data through 1955.
What names are similar to Obey?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Obed, Obert, Oberon, Obediah, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1920–1955 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.