Bobbi
Feminine · “bright fame”
Bobbi is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 24,216 girls against 64 boys since 1880.
Bobbi is Roberta's short form with the -i ending of its decade, and the Germanic behind it is bright fame — one of the better meanings in European naming.
How old is the name Bobbi?
Bobbi first appears in US birth records in 1932 — 93 years ago. The typical Bobbi alive today was born around 1974, making them about 51 years old. About 22,500 people named Bobbi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Bobbi most popular?
Bobbi peaked in 1971, reaching #314 nationally. Today it ranks #1833, 1,519 places below that high. See the whole 1971 chart.
Where it comes from
From Hrodebert to Bobbi
The story of Bobbi
Roberta was the standard nineteenth-century feminine of Robert, and English speech clipped it to Bobbie and Bobbi. Mid-century American families registered the clipping outright, choosing among -ie, -y and -i endings that were all in fashion. Bobbi peaked around 1961, often in compounds like Bobbi Jo and Bobbi Lynn.
Meaning
bright fame
Through Roberta and Robert, from the Germanic hrod, 'fame', and beraht, 'bright'. The Bob- form arose in English from a rhyming alteration of Rob, the same process that made Bill from Will and Dick from Rick. Both elements are transparent.
How the name formed
- Hrodebert
- Roberta
- Bobbi
Related forms: Bobbie · Roberta · Roberta
Pronouncing Bobbi
BOB-ee
Two syllables, stress on the first. Bobbi, Bobbie and Bobby are said identically.
Nicknames for Bobbi
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1932
- Most girls named
- 1970791 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #314reached in 1971
- Change vs 2023
- +43.4%109 in 2025, from 76
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Bobbi in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Bobbie in English — spelling variant
- Roberta in English — related form
- Roberta in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Bobbis among us
people named Bobbi are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 14,746 born in 2025 was named Bobbi
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Bobbi
- #1833
- Bobbi on the 2025 chart
- #839
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Bobbi went to 109 girls in 2025, but Bobby is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 121, which makes it the 839th most-given girls’ name of the year — 994 places above the chart.
- Bobbi109
- Bobby12
About 1 girl in 13,283 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 14,746 for Bobbi itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Robert test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Bobbi's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Robert climbed just as high around 1929, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Robert's path sketches the road Bobbi is walking now.
Bobbi is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Bobbi is headed
Bobbi looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 20% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Bobbi beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Bobbi in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is transparent, undisputed and unusually good.
- It works unusually well as the first half of a compound name.
- Roberta is available as a full formal version.
- Bobby is the standard masculine spelling and the sound does not distinguish sex.
- As a diminutive on the certificate it carries an informal register into adult life.
- It is sharply dated to the 1960s.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Bobbi to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Bobbi? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Bobbi
Feminine · #1833 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Bobbis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 22,500 people named Bobbi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Bobbi?
- Bobbi is the most-used spelling in US records — 109 of the 121 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Bobby.
- How popular is the name Bobbi in 2025?
- Bobbi ranks #1833 among US girl names in 2025, with 109 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Bobbi?
- About 1 in every 14,746 US girls born in 2025 was named Bobbi — 109 in all.
- Will my child share the name Bobbi with classmates?
- Bobbi will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Bobbi
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Graciela#1833 · Kalaya#1833 · Mirha#1833 · Alyvia#1833 · Maryjane#1833 · Marlo#1833 · Noelani#1833 · Loyalty#1833
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Bobbi? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Bobbi and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle