Bobo
A silly or stupid person, often used as a nickname.
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Bobo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bobo today is around 100 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bobo births was 1935 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bobo. 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
- • The typical person named Bobo is about 100 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Bobos were born before 1936.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Bobo. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1935
5 babies that year
Average age
100
years old
1935 SSA rank
#3,704
Tracked since 1935
Census
Bobo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 399 people with the first name Bobo, which placed it at #24,220 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#24,220
National first-name rank
People counted
399
399 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
33.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bobo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bobo is White at 33.1%. The next largest groups are Black (28.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (27.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bobo described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bobo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White33.1% · 132
- Black or African American28.8% · 115
- Asian and Pacific Islander27.8% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 25
- Two or more races3.0% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 4
Popularity
Bobo: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Bobo 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 Bobo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Bobo
The name Bobo is believed to have originated from the West African language of Akan, which is spoken in Ghana and other parts of West Africa. The name is thought to be derived from the word "bɔ," which means "to help" or "to assist." This suggests that the name Bobo may have been given to children with the hope that they would grow up to be helpful or supportive individuals.
In Akan culture, names carry significant meaning and are often chosen based on the circumstances surrounding a child's birth or the hopes and aspirations of the parents. The name Bobo may have been particularly popular among the Akan people, as it reflects the values of community, cooperation, and mutual assistance that are deeply ingrained in their culture.
While the exact origin of the name Bobo is not entirely clear, it is believed to have been in use for centuries among the Akan people. Some historical records and oral traditions may have mentioned individuals with this name, but specific references are difficult to trace due to the lack of written records from that time period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bobo can be found in the 18th century, when a man named Bobo Ahenkan was a prominent figure in the Ashanti Empire, which was a powerful West African kingdom located in present-day Ghana. Ahenkan was known for his military prowess and served as a respected advisor to several Ashanti kings.
Another notable figure with the name Bobo was Bobo Shanti, an influential Jamaican musician and pioneer of the reggae genre. Born in 1944, Shanti was a member of the Rastafarian movement and helped popularize the use of the name Bobo in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean.
In the world of sports, Bobo Brayton (1934-2001) was a professional American football player who played as a defensive back for the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Rams in the 1950s and 1960s.
Bobo Brazil (1924-1998), whose real name was Houston Harris, was an African American professional wrestler who gained fame during the mid-20th century. He was known for his charismatic persona and was one of the first black wrestlers to achieve mainstream success in the United States.
Finally, Bobo Olson (1928-2002), born Robert Olson, was an American boxer who competed as a middleweight and light heavyweight. He was a former world champion and is considered one of the greatest boxers from Minnesota.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Bobo, showcasing the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of those who carried this name of West African origin.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Bobo
People
Bobo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bobo 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
Bobo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bobo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bobo 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Bobo a common name?
We classify Bobo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bobo most popular?
The single biggest year for Bobo was 1935, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bobo is about 100 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bobo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 399 people with the name Bobo, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,220 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bobo in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bobo?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Bobo on both sides of the split. Of the 404 people counted with this name, 299 were male (74.0%) and 105 were female (26.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bobo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bobo is White at 33.1%. The next largest groups are Black (28.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (27.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bobo most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bobo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 33.1% (132 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Bobo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bobo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bobo 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 Bobo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bobo 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 Bobo 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.
How many people are named Bobo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.