Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Bobby?
Births per year, rank history and how many Bobbies are alive today.
Bobby (male) is a shortened form of the name Robert. Although Bobby itself was given to 544 babies in England and Wales in 2025 (ranked 94th as a registered name), most Bobbies are registered as Robert, which ranked 164th in 2025 with 310 babies.
Most people called Bobby are registered as Robert, and share that name's profile: the Robert you are most likely to meet is around 62 years old. Half of all Roberts born in England and Wales are between 45 and 74, and there are at least 510,000 of them alive today. Only some Roberts go by Bobby.
How many babies are named Bobby or Robert each year?
Combined registrations of Robert, Bobby. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Robert rank as a registered name?
Where does Bobby rank as a registered name?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
Is Bobby short for Robert?
Yes - Bobby is a shortened form of Robert. Bobbies are usually registered as Robert at birth.
When was the name Bobby most popular?
The full name Robert peaked in 1944, when around 14,000 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Bobby itself peaked as a registered name in 2012, with 1,186 babies.
How many people are called Bobby?
There's no official count of people who go by Bobby, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 510,000 people registered as Robert born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Bobby.
How old is the typical Bobby?
Most people called Bobby are registered as Robert. Most living Roberts are between 45 and 74; the most common age is about 62.
Is Bobby becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1944 peak.