Bobbylee
A diminutive form of the masculine name Robert, combined with the name Lee.
Name Census estimates that about 14 living Americans carry the first name Bobbylee. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bobbylee today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bobbylee births was 1984 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bobbylee. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Bobbylee. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
14
~ 1 in 24,482,453 Americans
Peak year
1984
5 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
1991 SSA rank
#8,346
Tracked since 1984
Popularity
Bobbylee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bobbylee from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 10 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Bobbylee remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bobbylee by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bobbylee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bobbylee
The given name Bobbylee is a relatively modern invention, originating in the English-speaking world in the late 19th or early 20th century. It appears to be a combination of the more common names Bobby, a diminutive form of Robert, and Lee, which can be used as a given name on its own or as a surname.
The name Bobby is derived from the medieval Germanic name Robert, which itself comes from the Germanic elements "hrōd" meaning "fame" and "berht" meaning "bright." Robert was a extremely popular name throughout medieval Europe, particularly in England and France, where it was often borne by members of the nobility and royalty.
Lee, on the other hand, has its origins in the Old English word "leah," meaning a meadow or clearing in a forest. It was originally a topographic surname given to someone who lived near or worked in such a clearing. Over time, it transitioned into use as a given name, particularly in the United States.
The earliest recorded instances of the combined name Bobbylee are sparse, as it was not a traditional name but rather a modern invention. One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name was Bobbylee Stiles, an American child actor who appeared in several films in the 1930s, including the 1935 adaptation of "Alice Adams."
Another notable bearer of the name was Bobbylee Hairston, an American basketball player who played for the University of Louisville in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He later had a brief career in the NBA, playing for the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets.
In the world of music, Bobbylee Trotter was an American blues singer and guitarist active in the 1920s and 1930s, known for his recordings with labels like Bluebird Records and Decca Records.
Bobbylee Roebuck was an American drag performer and LGBTQ+ activist, known for her work in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s and 1980s, advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and HIV/AIDS awareness.
Finally, Bobbylee Davenport was an American painter and illustrator, active in the mid-20th century, whose works were featured in various exhibitions and publications during her lifetime.
While not a traditional name with deep historical roots, Bobbylee is a unique combination that reflects the creativity and diversity of modern naming practices in the English-speaking world.
People
Bobbylee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bobbylee as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bobbylee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bobbylee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bobbylee going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 24,482,453 US residents.
Is Bobbylee a common name?
We classify Bobbylee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 34% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bobbylee most popular?
The single biggest year for Bobbylee was 1984, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bobbylee is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bobbylee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bobbylee a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bobbylee in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Bobbylee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bobbylee in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bobbylee can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Bobbylee?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.