Declining since 1995.
Popularity of Hobie since 1955
Babies named Hobie per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 20 |
| 1960s | 28 |
| 1970s | 0 |
| 1980s | 21 |
| 1990s | 144 |
| 2000s | 80 |
| 2010s | 80 |
| 2020s | 67 |
Meaning & origin
Hobie is a rare American given name that first appeared on the U.S. naming record in 1955. It reached its highest recorded usage in 1990, when it was given to 9 boys per million, but it has never appeared in the national top 1000. Since 1995, the name's trajectory has been falling, mirroring a broader trend against informal and nickname-based full first names. Hobie's lack of a root meaning or deep etymological history makes it a modern coinage, likely inspired by popular culture or the Hobie surf brand rather than traditional naming patterns. It has not been consistently associated with any U.S. state or region, and its use remains scattered and individual.
Hobie is an English diminutive, historically a nickname for Robert along the lines of Hob or Hobby. It gained modern recognition largely through association with the 1994 film "The Little Rascals" featuring a character named Hobie, and through surf culture as the name of the Hobie Cat catamaran brand. Its use as a given name in the United States has been sporadic since the mid-20th century, with a small peak in the 1990s.
Nicknames & variants
Variants: Hobby
Sibling names for Hobie
Names that share Hobie's style, for a brother or sister.
