Robie
A diminutive form of the masculine name Robert, meaning "bright renown."
Name Census estimates that about 1,039 living Americans carry the first name Robie. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 64.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Robie today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Robie births was 1961 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Robie. 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
- • Robie sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 329,889 Americans
Peak year
1961
55 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2011 SSA rank
#13,913
Tracked since 1892
Gender
Gender distribution for Robie
Robie is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,818 total registrations, 1,176 (64.7%) were male and 642 (35.3%) were female.
Robie as a male name
- Ranked #13,913 in 2011
- 5 male births in 2011
- Peak: 1963 (40 births)
Robie as a female name
- Ranked #13,977 in 1989
- 5 female births in 1989
- Peak: 1961 (25 births)
Popularity
Robie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Robie from the 1890s through to the 2010s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 417 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
Robie 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 Robie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Robies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. North Carolina, California, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Robie, while Tennessee, California, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Robie
The name Robie is believed to have originated from the Germanic language, specifically from the German and Dutch root words "rob" and "robe," which mean "bright" or "famous." It is a diminutive form of the name Robert, which itself is derived from the Germanic elements "hrod" (meaning "fame" or "renown") and "berht" (meaning "bright" or "shining").
Robie as a given name can be traced back to the Middle Ages, particularly in regions where Germanic languages were spoken, such as Germany, the Netherlands, and parts of northern Europe. It was initially used as a nickname or diminutive form of Robert, which was a popular name among the nobility and upper classes during that period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Robie can be found in the 14th century, when it was mentioned in the Wycliffe Bible, an early English translation of the Bible completed around 1384. However, it is important to note that the spelling and pronunciation of names often varied greatly during that time, and the name could have been spelled differently in different regions.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Robie. One of the earliest recorded was Robie Macaulay (1519-1558), a Scottish Protestant reformer and clergyman who served as the minister of St. Cuthbert's Church in Edinburgh. Another prominent figure was Robie Bright (1655-1720), an English merchant and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for the city of Maldon.
In the 19th century, Robie Gilmore (1833-1916) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and as a judge on the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Robie Ames (1851-1905) was an American architect who designed several notable buildings in Boston, including the Massachusetts State House extension.
More recently, Robie Franklin (1920-2013) was an American baseball player who played in the Negro leagues and later became a coach and scout for Major League Baseball teams. Robie House (1867-1909) was an American architect best known for designing the iconic Robie House in Chicago, which is considered a masterpiece of Prairie School architecture.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Robie throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across different cultures and time periods.
People
Robie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Robie 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
Robie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Robie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,039 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Robie 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 329,889 US residents.
Is Robie a common name?
We classify Robie as "Rare". It ranks above 90.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,818 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Robie most popular?
The single biggest year for Robie was 1961, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Robie is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Robie a male name?
Yes, 64.7% of people registered as Robie 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.