unisex name
Robbie
ROB-ee
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 55,057
Scotland
#100
2024 births
Robbie is a unisex name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame," a diminutive of Robert. It ranks 100th in Scotland and is reviving from a peak our records place in 1963, well after its medieval height.
- Robbie is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 1963, when 1,280 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1960s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 27,628 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Robbie started out as a girls' name and is now given almost entirely to boys.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Robbie over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 68 |
| 1890s | 306 |
| 1900s | 571 |
| 1910s | 2,038 |
| 1920s | 3,370 |
| 1930s | 3,588 |
| 1940s | 3,909 |
| 1950s | 6,628 |
| 1960s | 10,142 |
| 1970s | 6,119 |
| 1980s | 3,185 |
| 1990s | 1,636 |
| 2000s | 931 |
| 2010s | 803 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 645 |
What Robbie means
Robbie means bright fame, inherited from Robert. The Germanic compound joins hrod, fame, with beraht, bright, and both elements point the same way — the name is about renown, doubled.
Where Robbie comes from
Robbie is a diminutive of Robert, from the Germanic Hrodebert, hrod, fame, and beraht, bright or shining. The Normans brought Robert to Britain, where it displaced the Old English Hreodbeorht, and it became one of the most common medieval names, producing Rob, Robin, Hob, Dob and Bob as familiar forms — the last two by the medieval habit of rhyming a pet form onto a new consonant. Scotland has its own claim on it through Robert the Bruce and through Robert Burns, whom Scots call Rabbie rather than Robbie, using the Scots vowel. Robbie is the standard English diminutive, and its use for girls, though a minority, is established enough that our data records it as unisex. Robbie Burns as a form is an outsiders' version that Scots generally correct.
Robbie in use
Robbie ranks 100th in Scotland with 53 births in 2024 and 143rd in Northern Ireland, and our data records it as unisex. It is reviving from a peak in 1963, and our records carry it from 1880. It holds 572nd in England and Wales and 2,124th in the United States, where Robby and Bobby take some of the demand.
How popular is Robbie?
In 2025, Robbie was given to 120 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Robbie is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Robbie
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Robbie also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Robbie over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Robbie
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Robbie in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Robbie
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Robbie — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Robbie
What does the name Robbie mean?
Robbie means "bright fame," from the Germanic hrod, fame, and beraht, bright.
Is it Robbie Burns or Rabbie Burns?
Scots say Rabbie, using the Scots vowel. Robbie Burns is an outsiders' version.
Is Robbie a boy's or a girl's name?
Our data records it as unisex, though the great majority of use is male.
How popular is Robbie?
One hundredth in Scotland and 143rd in Northern Ireland.
How many syllables are in Robbie?
Robbie has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Robbie?
Robbie is usually shortened to Rob.
Is Robbie a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Robbie currently ranks #100 in the United States. After peaking in the 1960s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.