Given name & surname

Hobson

“the son of Robert”

Hobson is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “the son of Robert.”

Meaning & origin

What it means

One English interpretation is “the son of Robert.”

Where it comes from

An origin associated with this spelling is English.

How it developed

In English usage, Hobson as a surname has a patronymic derivation linked to Robert.

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1898. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Hobson through the years

Babies since 1880
436
436 boys · 0 girls
Most popular year
1898
38 babies
2025
0
Outside the ranked list
2021–25 vs 2016–20
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Too few births to compare
01002003004001900192019401960198020002025Highest share 18980.0
Hobson in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1898–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2021. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 38 in 1898. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 227 as a first name in 2020; 16,503 as a surname in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Hobson’s family of names

In English usage, Hobson as a surname has a patronymic derivation linked to Robert. Hobson has a related form in Hobbsan. Hobson has a related form in Hobbsen.

Walk Hobson’s family in the name graph

HobsonHobbsonHobsenHobbsynHobbsinHobbsanHobbsenHobbsunHobsanHobsynHobsinHobsunRobert

Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 11

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Show 3 moreShow fewer

Across languages 1

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

Similar names

If you love Hobson, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

English

Fitzhugh

“the son of Hugh”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

English

Halton

“from the manor on the hill”

12Very rare

>99% boys

English

Fairbanks

“from the bank along the path”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Chinese

Sing

Sing is a surname from English.

0Not recently recorded

89% boys · 11% girls

Celtic

Pembroke

“from the broken hill” · “from the headland”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

English

Halstead

“from the manor grounds”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

English

Taft

“from the homestead” · “from the marshes”

16Very rareEasing

>99% boys

English

Hílton

Hílton is a given name from English. It is used in Portuguese.

No U.S. birth series

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Sibling ideas

Names that share Hobson’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Hobson

A sister for Hobson