Bob (given name)
Bob is a male given name or a hypocorism, usually of Robert, and sometimes a diminutive of Bobby. It is most common in English-speaking countries such as the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand and some Anglophone African countries.
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | English |
| Name day | September 17 |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Germanic |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Robert, Bobby, Bobb, Boris |
| Related names | Robert, Roberta, Bobbie, Bobby, Bobette, Boris, Robbie, Rob, Robin, Rupert, Bert, Rahbert, Roberts, Hob, Dob, Nob, Bobo, numerous other variations |
It most likely originated from the hypocorism Rob, short for Robert. Rhyming names were popular in the Middle Ages, so Richard became Rick, Hick, or Dick, William became Will, Gill, or Bill, and Robert became Rob, Hob, Dob, Nob, or Bob.
It can also be used as a nickname for the name Vladimir, since a commonly used nickname for Vladimir is Vova which in Cyrillic script (Вова) resembles the name Bob in Latin script; historically, both names (Robert and Vladimir) share the same meaning.
The name Bob has shrunken in popularity in the past 60 years. In 1960 nearly 3,000 babies in the United States were given the name Bob, compared to fewer than 50 in 2000.