Boy · Germanic, through English
Bobby
Say it: BOB-ee
Meaning
A pet form of Robert, from Germanic hrod 'fame' + berht 'bright'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Very common as a given name in its own right in the US from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Its wave through time
A fashion of the 1930s
In the United States
- 323,675 babies given this name since 1900
- At its height in 1936, about 1 in 134 boys
- 266 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Bobbie
Famous bearers
- Bobby Kennedy, US attorney general
- Bobby Fischer, American chess champion
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.