Bob
Bob is a male given name: 100% of people named Bob are men, and it is recorded as male in 7 of the 7 countries covered.
- Verdict
- Male
- Male / female split
- 100% male / 0% female
- Confidence
- High (64 or more weighted country observations)
- Most common in
- United States, Netherlands, Ireland
- US births since 1880
- 92,913 male / 322 female
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Updated
- 2026-09-11
How to address Bob
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Bob," in English, "Guten Tag Bob," in German. Bob is a male given name: about 100% of people named Bob are men. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Ready-made greetings in six languages
English
Dear Bob,
German
Guten Tag Bob,
French
Bonjour Bob,
Spanish
Estimado/a Bob:
Chinese
Bob您好：
Japanese
Bob様
English
Hi Bob,
German
Hi Bob,
French
Salut Bob,
Spanish
Hola Bob,
Chinese
Bob你好：
Japanese
Bobさん
This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.
Country breakdown
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | very common | man's name | 100% |
| Netherlands | uncommon | man's name | 98% |
| Ireland | rare | man's name | 98% |
| Belgium | rare | man's name | 98% |
| Great Britain | rare | man's name | 98% |
| Switzerland | rare | man's name | 98% |
| Norway | rare | man's name | 98% |
United States birth data
92,913 male · 322 female · 93,235 births recorded
Since 1980: 100% male.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bob a male or female name?
Bob is a male given name: 100% of people named Bob are men, and it is recorded as male in 7 of the 7 countries covered.
How do I address Bob in an email?
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Bob," in English, "Guten Tag Bob," in German. Bob is a male given name: about 100% of people named Bob are men. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Is Bob a unisex name?
Bob is not a unisex name: 100% of people named Bob are men. Bob leans strongly male overall.
Related names
Sources
Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.
DearWho, "Is Bob a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/bob (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_bob,
title = {Is Bob a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/bob},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}