Hoby
A diminutive of Robert, derived from the Germanic name meaning "bright renown".
Name Census estimates that about 70 living Americans carry the first name Hoby. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hoby today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hoby births was 1958 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hoby. 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 Hoby. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
70
~ 1 in 4,896,491 Americans
Peak year
1958
30 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
1990 SSA rank
#8,626
Tracked since 1958
Census
Hoby in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 137 people with the first name Hoby, which placed it at #47,543 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#47,543
National first-name rank
People counted
137
137 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoby
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hoby is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Hoby described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Hoby at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.4% · 117
- Black or African American5.1% · 7
- Two or more races4.4% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.9% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 1
Popularity
Hoby: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hoby from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 45 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hoby 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 Hoby during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hobys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hoby
The name Hoby has its origins in the Middle English language, deriving from the word "hobby," which initially referred to a small horse or pony. This term traces back to the Old French "hobin" and, ultimately, the Old English "hobyn." The name emerged during the medieval period, particularly in England.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hoby can be found in historical records from the 13th century. It was often associated with individuals involved in equestrian pursuits or occupations related to horses, such as horse trainers, stable hands, or even knights who rode hobyn into battle.
While the name does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been documented in various historical records throughout the centuries. One notable individual bearing the name was Sir Hoby Hoby, an English diplomat and courtier who lived from 1542 to 1625. He served as the Ambassador to France during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Another prominent figure was Hoby Wyrall, a 17th-century English philosopher and writer who lived from 1616 to 1673. He is best known for his work "The Prudential Balances of Justice and Mercy," which explored themes of morality and ethics.
In the 18th century, Hoby Molesworth (1711-1766) was a notable English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for several constituencies, including Bodmin and East Retford.
During the 19th century, Hoby Paulet-Somerset (1823-1892) was a prominent British nobleman and peer. He held the titles of 9th Duke of Beaufort and 5th Baron Raglan, and was a prominent figure in the British aristocracy.
Lastly, Hoby Herring (1885-1956) was an American artist and painter known for his landscapes and scenes depicting life in the American West. He was born in California and spent much of his career capturing the natural beauty of the western United States.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Hoby, demonstrating its enduring presence across various cultural and historical contexts.
People
Hoby + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hoby 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
Hoby: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hoby?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 70 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hoby 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 4,896,491 US residents.
Is Hoby a common name?
We classify Hoby as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 85 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hoby most popular?
The single biggest year for Hoby was 1958, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hoby is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hoby in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 137 people with the name Hoby, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #47,543 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Hoby in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Hoby?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hoby appears almost entirely male. Of the 141 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Hoby?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hoby is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Hoby most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hoby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.4% (117 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Hoby in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hoby a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hoby 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 Hoby still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hoby 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 Hoby 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.
How many people have Hoby as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.