Hobbes
A masculine name from an English surname derived from a nickname for Robert.
Name Census estimates that about 60 living Americans carry the first name Hobbes. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hobbes today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hobbes births was 2015 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hobbes. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hobbes. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
60
~ 1 in 5,712,572 Americans
Peak year
2015
12 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,951
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Hobbes: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hobbes from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 44 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hobbes remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hobbes 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 Hobbes during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hobbes
The name Hobbes has its origins in the Old English language, where it was a diminutive of the name Robert. The name Robert itself is derived from the Germanic elements "hrod" meaning "fame" and "berht" meaning "bright." The Old English form of the name was "Hrobbert," which evolved into Robert and eventually the diminutive Hobbes.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Hobbes can be found in the Domesday Book, a great survey of England and Wales commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This suggests that the name was in use as early as the 11th century.
Probably the most famous bearer of the name Hobbes was the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679). He is best known for his seminal work "Leviathan," in which he argued for a strong central authority to maintain social order. His ideas had a profound impact on political philosophy and the development of social contract theory.
Another notable Hobbes was the English mathematician and philosopher William Hobbes (c. 1571-1637). He was a contemporary of Thomas Hobbes and is remembered for his work on arithmetic and geometry.
In literature, the name Hobbes is perhaps most closely associated with the character of the same name in the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. Hobbes is the anthropomorphic stuffed tiger and best friend of the mischievous Calvin.
Sir Benjamin Hobhouse (1757-1831) was a British politician and baronet who served as a Member of Parliament and as a member of the Privy Council. He was also the founder of the Hobhouse Paper Mills, which played a significant role in the development of the British paper industry.
Thomas Hobbes (1930-2012) was a British actor and writer, best known for his role as the chauffeur Willie Tanner in the popular television series Upstairs, Downstairs. He appeared in several other television shows and films throughout his career.
People
Hobbes + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hobbes as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hobbes: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hobbes?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 60 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hobbes 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 5,712,572 US residents.
Is Hobbes a common name?
We classify Hobbes as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 60 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hobbes most popular?
The single biggest year for Hobbes was 2015, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hobbes is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Hobbes in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hobbes a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hobbes 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.
Is Hobbes still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hobbes in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Hobbes can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Hobbes?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Hobbes on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.