Bob Marley
There are approximately 1 people named Bob Marley living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Bob with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Marley. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Bob
41K
Alive today
Named Marley
7.2K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 41K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1959
Average age: 72
Estimated bearers: 7.2K
Rarity: Rare
Census rank: #5,591
Per 100K: 2.11
Top ancestry: White (87.3%)
First name trend
Bob: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Bob. The peak year was 1959 with 2,834 births. The average person named Bob today is 72 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Marley surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Marley, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 87.3%.
- White87.3%
- Black or African American6.7%
- Hispanic or Latino2.7%
- Two or more races2.1%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Bob has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0121% of the US population, based on 41,459 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Marley appears at a rate of 2.11 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0021%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Bob Marley. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Bob
Related
Other people with the surname Marley
FAQ
Bob Marley: questions and answers
How many people are named Bob Marley?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Bob Marley. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0121%) with the surname frequency (2.11 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Bob Marley?
We classify Bob Marley as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Bob a male or female name?
Bob is predominantly male. Out of 93,300 total SSA registrations, 99.7% were male and 0.3% were female. See the full Bob profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.