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Bobby

Gender
Boy
Say it
BOB-ee
Origin
Germanic
UK rank, 2025
#101 for boys
US rank, 2025
#1,097 for boys

Bobby is a boys' name of Germanic origin, meaning “bright fame”. In 2025 it ranked 101st for boys in the UK (572 babies) and 1,097th for boys in the US (195 babies).

What does Bobby mean?

Germanic: pet form of Robert

“bright fame”

British police officers are called bobbies after Sir Robert Peel, who founded the Metropolitan Police in 1829.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Bobby a girl's or a boy's name?

Bobby is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 8 girls and 572 boys in the UK and 12 girls and 195 boys in the US.

How popular is Bobby in the UK?

Rank in 2025
101st among boys
Babies in 2025
572 about 1 in 520 boys
Five-year trend
Falling down 31% in five years
Same name in a class
2.6% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 572 boys in the UK were named Bobby, making it the 101st most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 75th. Its busiest year was 2012, with 1,278 boys. 8 girls were also named Bobby in 2025 (3,101st for girls).

2025 had fewer boys named Bobby than any year since 2008.

Half of all the boys named Bobby in the UK since 1996 were born between 2010 and 2019, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 624 boys in the UK were given Bobby or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #105.

Among boys in 2025, it was 94th in England and Wales, 333rd in Scotland and 126th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for boys, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 2014 (#71) and 2024 (#82).

1996Busiest: 1,278 in 20122025
Bobby in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
2025572#101
2024698#85
2023620#96
2022764#83
2021821#79
2020846#75
2019971#70
2018928#77
20171,027#70
2016843#94
20151,053#74
2014996#80
20131,131#62
20121,278#61
2011910#81
2010814#90
2009662#106
2008567#117
2007558#119
2006533#120
2005529#121
2004576#113
2003208#198
2002100#312
2001107#290
2000111#286
1999108#294
1998117#273
1997118#270
1996135#251

How popular is Bobby in the US?

Rank in 2025
1,097th among boys
Babies in 2025
195 about 1 in 8,800 boys
Five-year trend
Falling down 30% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 195 boys in the US were named Bobby, making it the 1,097th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 850th. Its busiest year was 1937, with 7,745 boys. It first appears in the records in 1900. 12 girls were also named Bobby in 2025 (8,360th for girls).

Half of all the boys named Bobby in the US since 1880 were born between 1939 and 1968, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 200 boys in the US were given Bobby or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #990, up from #1,097 for this spelling alone.

In 1912, 63% of the babies named Bobby in the US were girls. By 2025 it was 6%, with more boys than girls since 1914.

1900Busiest: 7,745 in 19372025
Bobby in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
2025195#1,097
2024192#1,114
2023169#1,192
2022214#1,032
2021216#1,016
2020268#850
2019250#880
2018272#823
2017298#786
2016322#754
2015328#740
2014313#754
2013363#665
2012331#714
2011346#682
2010458#551
2009458#576
2008515#524
2007523#503
2006546#483
2005505#490
2004573#452
2003559#451
2002644#399
2001655#389
2000730#364
1999729#359
1998835#325
1997913#299
1996932#290
19951,046#269
19941,136#255
19931,221#238
19921,387#221
19911,508#206
19901,677#185
19891,759#172
19881,715#163
19871,889#147
19862,105#130
19852,094#135
19842,119#129
19832,357#118
19822,605#113
19812,658#110
19802,724#109
19792,584#106
19782,398#109
19772,539#105
19762,644#96
19752,772#93
19742,792#92
19732,889#93
19723,171#90
19713,652#79
19703,636#87
19693,652#82
19683,628#81
19673,779#83
19664,068#82
19654,588#80
19645,082#73
19635,212#75
19625,323#78
19615,402#76
19605,656#73
19595,677#71
19585,735#69
19575,617#78
19565,358#77
19555,223#75
19545,507#72
19535,179#74
19524,960#77
19515,006#77
19505,019#65
19495,120#67
19485,581#62
19476,116#60
19465,771#53
19455,052#53
19445,410#50
19436,121#46
19426,248#43
19416,589#35
19406,882#30
19397,057#29
19387,498#27
19377,745#24
19367,735#24
19357,726#24
19347,532#23
19336,490#26
19326,597#30
19315,858#32
19305,181#41
19293,925#50
19282,972#65
19272,286#91
19261,595#116
19251,085#150
1924733#191
1923470#260
1922370#293
1921274#364
1920170#468
191993#628
191881#700
191762#797
191649#892
191542#962
191436#907
191314#1,440
191214#1,267
191112#981
19108#1,192
19099#1,020
19086#1,216
19075#1,344
19067#1,003
190511#741
19048#874
19030–
19020–
19010–
19007#1,049

Names like Bobby

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Tommy, Teddy, Frankie, Freddie, Toby, Rudy, Joey, Billy, Sonny, Reggie, Ronnie, Zachary

Other spellings of Bobby

Bobbie, Bobi, Bobbi

Names related to Bobby

Bob

More Germanic names

Amelia, Liam, Henry, Charlotte, William, Archie, Charlie, Emma, Ella, Harry, Millie, Albie, Matilda, Louie, Miles, Alice

Every Germanic name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Bobby: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/bobby, updated 20 October 2026.