Rob

Where Rob comes from

The dictionaries list Rob as a given name — a diminutive of the male given names Robert and Robin — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • 1 syllable
Along the way
  1. 1884
    First appearance
    #971 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1947
    Rob Reiner born
    American filmmaker and actor
  3. 1963
    Peak, #334
    555 babies named Rob — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1967
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #453.
  5. 1987
    Rob Jetten born
    prime minister of the Netherlands
In the dictionary
  • A diminutive of the male given names Robert and Robin.
Namesakes
  • Rob Reiner · American filmmaker and actor, 1947–2025
  • Rob Jetten · prime minister of the Netherlands, born 1987
  • Rob Lowe · American actor, born 1964
  • Rob Zombie · American rock singer and filmmaker, born 1965
  • Rob Rensenbrink · Dutch association football player, 1947–2020

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.