Bob

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Bob: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Bob: Recorded since 1996, it reached #529 in 2008, and it stood at #770 in 2023.

2registrars recorded it
27times a registrar ranked it
28years from first to last
#529highest recorded position
4groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2023

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1765
1997	#2859
1998	#1485
1999	#1505
2000	#1703
2001	#1746
2002	#1651
2003	#1962
2004	#3009
2005	#3208
2006	#2538
2007	#2741
2008	#2097
2010	#2629
2011	#4647
2012	#3416
2013	#3822
2014	#3362
2015	#3908
2016	#3478
2017	#3040
2018	#3959
2019	#3013
2020	#2682
2023	#4107

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in England and Wales in 25 of the 28 years from 1996 to 2023.

In 2023: #770 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #4107 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1996–2023 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #1765 among boys in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Boys
Highest recorded2008–2023
Highest recorded position: #529 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2008 (recorded 2008–2023).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2023
Most recently recorded at #4107 among boys in England and Wales, in 2023.
England and Wales · Boys

Bob appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, which has ranked it in 25 years beginning in 1996, and has registered 143 births with the name.

Bob across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Bob's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
England and Wales · Boys	#1765 (1996)	#1485 (1998)	#4107 (2023)	25 of 28	143 (1996–2023)	9 (2008)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#529 (2008)	#529 (2008)	#770 (2023)	2 of 16	8 (2008–2023)	5 (2008)

Bob by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Bob in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	25	4 of 10	6
2000sbusiest	58	9 of 10	6
2010s	49	10 of 10	5
2020s	11	2 of 10	6

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2000s were its busiest decade — the 9 years of it this list covers, averaging 6 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Bob appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1996 to 2023. Highest recorded position: #529 in Republic of Ireland in 2008.

Bob's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2023	England and Wales	male	#4107	4	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#2682	7	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#3013	6	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#3959	4	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#3040	6	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#3478	5	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#3908	4	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#3362	5	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#3822	4	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#3416	5	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#4647	3	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#2629	7	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#2097	9	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#2741	6	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#2538	6	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#3208	4	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#3009	4	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1962	7	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1651	8	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#1746	7	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#1703	7	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#1505	8	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#1485	8	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#2859	3	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#1765	6	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	male	#770	3	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#529	5	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1996 and 2023, ranked in 25 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #529, first reached in 2008.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 9 births, registered in England and Wales in 2008.

Its record falls into 3 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 2 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2008, and 12 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Bo · #129, 77y
Boaz · #1078, 25y
Bobbi · #291, 30y
Bobbie · #238, 30y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Guilherme · #529, 24y
Harlan · #529, 28y
Kristal · #529, 21y
Quin · #529, 21y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Devyn · #529, 16y
Guilherme · #529, 24y
Harlan · #529, 28y
Caira · #528, 24y

Bob was ranked #529 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 2008. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Bob and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Bob without appearing here.

Bob moved ahead of

Brent Compare
In 2019 they stood at #3959 and #3412 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2020 that had become #2682 and #4608.
Shannon Compare
In 2016 they stood at #3822 and #3822 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2017 that had become #3040 and #4812.
Ashleigh Compare
In 2005 they stood at #3208 and #2754 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2006 that had become #2538 and #4052.
Madison Compare
In 2013 they stood at #3822 and #3315 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2014 that had become #3362 and #4632.

Moved ahead of Bob

Henrik Compare
In 2010 they stood at #2629 and #3332 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2011 that had become #4647 and #2194.
Willow Compare
In 2022 they stood at #2682 and #3848 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #4107 and #2325.
Aksel Compare
In 2010 they stood at #2629 and #3332 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2011 that had become #4647 and #2892.
Tadhg Compare
In 1996 they stood at #1765 and #2357 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1997 that had become #2859 and #1174.

Moved the opposite way to Bob

Albie Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Bob went from #1765 to #4107 while Albie went from #853 to #22.
Alfie Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Bob went from #1765 to #4107 while Alfie went from #119 to #16.
Alfred Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Bob went from #1765 to #4107 while Alfred went from #218 to #76.
Archie Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Bob went from #1765 to #4107 while Archie went from #192 to #13.

Moved the same way as Bob

Aaron Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Bob went from #1765 to #4107 and Aaron from #33 to #146.
Adam Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Bob went from #1765 to #4107 and Adam from #16 to #41.
Alan Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Bob went from #1765 to #4107 and Alan from #163 to #464.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Bob went from #1765 to #4107 and Alex from #43 to #152.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1996 to 2023. Highest recorded position: #529 in Republic of Ireland in 2008. Source data last verified 2026-07-25.

Bob

Bob at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Bob across 2 official records

Bob by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Bob appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Bob

Bob and the names beside it

Bob moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Bob

Moved the opposite way to Bob

Moved the same way as Bob

Bob at a glance

Bob across 2 official records

Bob by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Bob appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Bob

Bob and the names beside it

Bob moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Bob

Moved the opposite way to Bob

Moved the same way as Bob