Bob
Bob was the 9845th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 7 babies. Its best year was 1934, when it ranked 75th; the most babies were born in 1959 (2,826). Over the last ten years it has moved down 3,804 places. More babies were named Bob in the 1930s than in any other decade.
Meaning short form of Robert · English, Germanic
Say it BAHB /bɑb/
- Rank in 2025
- #9,845 boys, down 3,164 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 7boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19592,826 babies
- Total since 1880
- 93,308babies recorded
What does the name Bob mean?
Bob is probably a medieval rhyming nickname from Rob, a short form of Robert, as Wiktionary notes. Robert is a Germanic name from hrōd 'fame' and beraht 'bright', as DMNES notes. 'Bob's your uncle' and Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and Bob Hope show how familiar it became.
hrōd (Proto-Germanic (*hrōþiz), “fame”)beraht (Proto-Germanic (*berhtaz), “bright”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Robert, Bobby, Rob, Robbie.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean light, names that mean fame.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Bob', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Robert', DMNES (Durham University)
Nicknames for Bob
The usual nicknames for Bob are Bobby. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Bob in the last five years, 3521 were named Bobby, against 3336 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby · also for Robert | Traditional | #1,097 | 986 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Bobs go by each one.
Bob popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 322 since 1913.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #9,845 | 7 |
| 2020 | #6,681 | 12 |
| 2010 | #7,649 | 10 |
| 2000 | #2,871 | 31 |
| 1990 | #1,567 | 53 |
| 1980 | #861 | 106 |
| 1970 | #399 | 406 |
| 1960 | #131 | 2,719 |
| 1950 | #204 | 976 |
| 1940 | #99 | 2,082 |
| 1930 | #88 | 2,242 |
| 1920 | #189 | 710 |
| 1910 | #229 | 103 |
| 1900 | #196 | 98 |
| 1890 | #227 | 53 |
| 1880 | #244 | 46 |
How popular is Bob, counting every spelling?
Bob has no other common spelling that sounds the same.
How many kids will share the name Bob?
7 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Bob (0.00 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Bob born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 1,224 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Bob.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Bob?
About 34,800 people born in the US named Bob are alive today, with a median age of 68; half are between 64 and 80. That makes Bob a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Bob: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Bob, they share its era and feel.
Bob is also a nickname for Robert.
Questions about the name Bob
What does Bob mean?
Bob means “short form of Robert” (English, Germanic origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Bob?
Bob was the 9845th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 7 babies. Its best year was 1934, when it ranked 75th; the most babies were born in 1959 (2,826). Over the last ten years it has moved down 3,804 places. More babies were named Bob in the 1930s than in any other decade.
Is Bob a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Bob in the US.