Boys' name · peaked in 1934
Bob name popularity since 1925
84,404 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Bob. Half of them were born in 1944 or earlier, so the typical Bob is about 82 years old in 2026. Bob peaked in 1934 as the #75 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 84,404
- Named Bob, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1934
- #75 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #9,845 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% boys
- 272 girls · 84,132 boys
- Most popular in
- Wyoming
- 3.77× its national share
Peak year is the year Bob made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Bob births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1959. Measured as a share of all babies, Bob peaked in 1934.
- Steepest fall: Between 1946 and 1951, Bob's share of baby boys fell by 72%, from 1 in 651 to 1 in 2,340.
- Fastest rise: Between 1954 and 1959, it became 3.9× more common, from 1 in 2,930 baby boys to 1 in 755.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Bob's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Bob.
Decade by decade
Babies named Bob in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 46 | 9,313 | – |
| 1930s | 106 | 23,293 | #81 |
| 1940s | 54 | 21,376 | #107 |
| 1950s | 30 | 12,902 | #248 |
| 1960s | 31 | 13,789 | #230 |
| 1970s | 5 | 1,983 | #625 |
| 1980s | 0 | 751 | #1,083 |
| 1990s | 0 | 367 | #2,516 |
| 2000s | 0 | 184 | #3,826 |
| 2010s | 0 | 134 | #6,041 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 40 | #9,845 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
48.1% of babies named Bob from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Bob is most popular
The index compares Bob's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Bob.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | 3.77× | 421 |
| Oklahoma | 3.43× | 3,698 |
| Montana | 3.24× | 783 |
| Nebraska | 2.90× | 1,679 |
| Kansas | 2.80× | 2,360 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Bob's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Bob.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Bob (1934).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data