Explore the Family Name Bobby

The meaning of Bobby

English (mainly East Anglia and Kent): possibly from a pet form of the personal name Robert, or perhaps a nickname related to Middle English boban, bobant ‘pride, boasting’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Bobby in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Bobby has seen a slight increase in popularity over the years. In 2000, it was ranked 24,406 and this improved to 24,137 by 2010, indicating a positive change of 1.1%. The count of individuals bearing this name also escalated from 961 in 2000 to 1,042 in 2010, experiencing an 8.43% rise. However, the proportion per 100k people experienced a minor drop of 2.78%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#24,406	#24,137	1.1%
Count	961	1,042	8.43%
Proportion per 100k	0.36	0.35	-2.78%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Bobby

The ethnic identity associated with the surname Bobby has shown some noteworthy shifts as per the Decennial U.S. Census data. While the majority of individuals with this surname identified as White in both 2000 and 2010 (at 79.92% and 78.79% respectively), there were noticeable changes in other ethnic groups. The percentage of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander saw a significant surge from 1.66% to 4.13%, marking a 148.80% increase. The group identifying as two or more races also doubled from 1.87% to 3.74%. However, the percentage of those identifying as Black saw a decrease of 27.74% from 11.03% to 7.97%. The percentage of Hispanic individuals grew modestly from 1.04% to 1.44%, while American Indian and Alaskan Native representation dropped by 12.08%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	79.92%	78.79%	-1.41%
Black	11.03%	7.97%	-27.74%
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.66%	4.13%	148.8%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	4.47%	3.93%	-12.08%
Two or More Races	1.87%	3.74%	100%
Hispanic	1.04%	1.44%	38.46%