Robby
A diminutive form of Robert, a Germanic name meaning "bright renown".
Name Census estimates that about 9,393 living Americans carry the first name Robby. It is a predominantly male name (98.0% of registrations). The average person named Robby today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Robby births was 1964 (424 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Robby. 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
- • Although Robby is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 215 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
9.4K
~ 1 in 36,490 Americans
Peak year
1964
424 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,519
Tracked since 1921
Gender
Gender distribution for Robby
Robby leans heavily male at 98.0% of total registrations, but 215 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Robby as a male name
- Ranked #4,519 in 2024
- 23 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1964 (412 births)
Robby as a female name
- Ranked #9,045 in 1985
- 7 female births in 1985
- Peak: 1964 (12 births)
Popularity
Robby: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Robby from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 3,381 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Robby 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 Robby during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Robbys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Robby, while West Virginia, Montana, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 187 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Robby
The name Robby is a diminutive form of the name Robert, which is derived from the Germanic name Hrodebert. This name is composed of the elements "hrod" meaning "fame" and "berht" meaning "bright." The name Robert was introduced to Britain by the Normans after their conquest in 1066.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Robert can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name gained popularity in medieval Europe, particularly in France and England, and was borne by several prominent figures in history.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Robert was Robert the Bruce, the King of Scots who led the Scots to victory over the English in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century. He was born in 1274 and died in 1329.
Another notable Robert was Robert Guiscard, a Norman adventurer who became the Duke of Apulia and Calabria in southern Italy in the 11th century. He played a significant role in the Norman conquest of southern Italy and Sicily.
In literature, the name Robert is associated with the character of Robin Hood, the legendary outlaw hero of medieval English folklore. While the name Robin is a diminutive of Robert, it is unclear whether the character was based on a real person named Robert.
Robert Hooke was an English natural philosopher, architect, and polymath who lived in the 17th century (1635-1703). He made significant contributions to various fields, including physics, astronomy, and architecture.
Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer known for his works such as "Treasure Island," "Kidnapped," and "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." He lived from 1850 to 1894.
The diminutive form Robby emerged as a popular nickname for Robert, particularly in the 20th century. It has been used as a standalone name, although it is less common than the full form Robert.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Robby
People
Robby + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Robby as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Robby: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Robby?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,393 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Robby 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 36,490 US residents.
Is Robby a common name?
We classify Robby as "Rare". It ranks above 97.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,757 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Robby most popular?
The single biggest year for Robby was 1964, when 424 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Robby is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Robby a male name?
Yes, 98.0% of people registered as Robby 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.
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.