Bobby (given name)

Bobby or Bobbie is both a masculine and a feminine hypocorism, given name and occasional nickname. It is usually a variant of Robert (male) or Roberta (female). It can also be short for the male name Roberto. The female version is also sometimes spelled "Bobbi" or "Bobi".

"Bobby" is a diminutive of "Bob", itself a diminutive which 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 or Bill, and Robert became Rob, Hob, Dob, Nob, or Bob.