Top 90 US name Boys' name Peak 1947 4,845,891 births

Robert — #90 US boys' name

4,845,891 babies named Robert in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1947. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s240741890s261471900s358491910s2391851920s5763751930s5907991940s7581151950s8303911960s6507691970s3972491980s3216721990s2054542000s1066582010s626372020s20517
#90
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99.4% of names given to boys today.

1950s
Peak decade

17% of everyone ever named Robert was born in this single decade.

1947
Single peak year

91,654 babies were named Robert in 1947 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Robert

The Social Security Administration has registered 4,845,891 babies named Robert between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Robert currently holds the #90 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1947, when 91,654 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Robert performed strongest in the 1950s, accumulating 830,391 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Robert shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 440,907 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Pennsylvania and California. In total, SSA state-level files list Robert in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Robert 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 4,845,891 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.

Robert at a glance

Top 100 boys' name

Total births

4,845,891

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1947

91,654 births that year

Strongest decade: 1950s

Current rank

#90

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Robert popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 100 boys' name
Peak year (1947)
91,654
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-20,000020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 2,415

Robert popularity over time — girls

20,116 total births recorded since 1880 (Robert as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 20,116 births
-1000100200300400500 202320001982196419461928191018921880 12

Robert by decade

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

Peak: 1950s
Peak decade
1950s
830,391 births that decade — 17% of Robert's all-time total
1880s240741890s261471900s358491910s2391851920s5763751930s5907991940s7581151950s8303911960s6507691970s3972491980s3216721990s2054542000s1066582010s626372020s20517

Robert by state

Where Robert concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Robert
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
440,907 9.1%
#2 Pennsylvania
353,223 7.3%
#3 California
352,989 7.3%
#4 Ohio
279,273 5.8%
#5 Illinois
277,670 5.7%
#6 Texas
224,479 4.6%
#7 Michigan
216,154 4.5%
#8 Massachusetts
172,575 3.6%
New York share of Robert's total US births 9.1%
Even split

440,907 of 4,845,891 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Robert appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Robert?
4,845,891 babies have been named Robert since 1880. It currently ranks #90 among boys. The peak year was 1947 with 91,654 births.
When was Robert most popular?
Robert was most popular in the 1950s decade with 830,391 total births. The single peak year was 1947.
Where is Robert most popular?
The top states for the name Robert are New York (440,907 births), Pennsylvania (353,223 births), California (352,989 births).
How long has the name Robert been used?
Robert has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Robert?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Roberto, Robin, Robbie, Robby, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Robert

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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, 1880–2024 (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.