Bob
Bob is a male given name or a hypocorism, usually of Robert; and sometimes a diminutive of Bobby.
- English
- Dutch
Meaning & Origin of Bob
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Bob is a male given name or a hypocorism, usually of Robert; and sometimes a diminutive of Bobby.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
- Dutch
The Story of Bob
Bob first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1880, with 46 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1959: 2,826 births, good for #128 nationwide. About 25% of every Bob on record arrived during the 1930s, its defining decade. Bob last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 7 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 93K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1880s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Bob
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Bob. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Bob
Phonetically similar names — useful when Bob is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bob
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In which U.S. states is Bob most popular?
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About the name Bob
Bob is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 93K births in the dataset. Bob's peak popularity came in 1959 when it ranked #128. Use the chart and map above to compare Bob's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1959 →
- Names of the 1950s →
- Names starting with "B" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.