Bobby
Pronounced B AA1 B IY0 (ARPABET)
- 2 syllables
- Peaked 1937
- 136 years in use
- 2 spellings
How popular is Bobby?
Bobby is a boys' name, and first appears in 1889. It has been given to 333,328 children — the 114th most common boys' name on record.
It has been slipping, down 42% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1937, when 8,342 children were given it.
Two other spellings are counted in that total — Bobbie and Bobbi — because they are pronounced identically.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Bobby and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Bobbie
- Bobbi
Nicknames
Bobby is itself a short form of Robert.
Characteristics
- Alliterative
- 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- B AA1 B IY0
- Stress pattern:
- 10
- Syllables:
- 2
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Bobby
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Bobby
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Bobby?
- Bobby ranks 114th among boys' names in US records, with 333,328 births since 1889. Over the past decade it accounts for 2,579.
- Is Bobby a unisex name?
- No. Bobby is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
- When was Bobby most popular?
- 1937, when 8,342 children were given the name. It has been in use for 136 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Bobby spelled?
- Bobbie, Bobbi. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.