Mom is not at all sure how she picked out the name Bob when she first saw me.    My original 2-legged mother was named Philisity, and when my Mom asked Ms. Phil if I could come to live with her, Ms. Phil told her that I had been named Noisy Cricket.     I guess I must have chirpped a lot or something.

Anyway, as the story goes, Ms. Phil drove me to Virginia and handed me over to my Mom and Mom said --- "it's BOB!"     And so I was Bob.    Just Bob.  Not Robert or Bobby.  Just Bob.    No one has ever called me anything else except sometimes, Mom calls me Bob-Boo or Bob-Booey, but that is only when she is filling silly.  Or I am acting silly.     I like my name.  It fits me.    I don't want to be called anything other than Bob.  That's me allright.

So yesterday on the NPR (which if you forgot stands for National Public Radio), we were listening to them talk about the Baby Name Wizard    Evidently two legged people have a lot of trouble picking out names for their babies and so this inventive woman has come up with a web-site where you can research a lot of names, or she will help you pick one, or YOU CAN BUY THE BOOK.   
                                                                    


Yipes.

So for the fun of it, we decided to see what we could find out about my name.   My Mouse Person was giggling when he flew us off to try this out, and I don't know what he thinks is so funny because he doesn't even HAVE a name.   He is just Mouse Person.      

It seems that the origin (that means the beginning) of my name can be found in another book called The World of Baby Names and this is what it says:

Origin of the name Robert:

Introduced to England by the Normans, Robert is derived from the Old High German Hruodperht, a compound name composed of the elements hruod (fame) and perht (bright). The name was borne by Robert I (d. 1035), duke of Normandy and father of William the Conqueror, and by three kings of Scotland.

I guess there is nothing in the book about Just Bob.      So we had to settle with Robert (which is not me, by the way, but I guess it is as close as we can come).      So Robert means "fame" and "bright".     Not bad.    Since I am not really Robert but Just Bob, I guess that means I am a little famous and somewhat bright.    

                    Then we used the Namipedia to see what others thought about Bob.

Everyone seemed to put me right in the middle.      No one thought much about my name one way or another.  That was a blow.     Just to be "in the middle" with no one having a strong opinion.    Yipes.

It seems I should have been born in the 30's, according to the popularity peak.....

                                                          


Mom says not to worry because that just makes me "an old soul".      

We checked out some comments too and for the question - famous people named Bob, the only entry so far was for Bob Saget, a comedian

                                                  
  No one named me, Blogging Bob, Boy Bloginator and Pit Bull Reporter Extra Ordinary.   

                               



That is sad.      I am very sorry that no one entered my name on the question part of the Baby Name Wizard's Web-Site.    Mom says not to worry, because obviously this web-site is very new or people just aren't thinking right.   She said there are a lot of famous people named Bob.      Like what about:

Bob Hope (a dead comedian)
Bob (or Bobby) Kennedy  

Just those two alone, Mom says should make me feel a lot better about the company I keep.    My Mouse Person had a good idea however and he found us an entire web-site just for people named Bob.   It is
 The Bob Club

           Now this is more my speed!   I am feeling better already!
Just look what I found on the very first page we flew too!

A Bob By Any Other Name Is Still A Bob

"Holy Cow! Who Would Have Thought There'd Be So Many!" As Of June 10th, 2011 3,139 Bobs! And More Coming Every Day!

Yipes........    I didn't know where to start...... but because I like the "under-dog"  (ha....... pun intended) - I picked the "not so famous bobs"    I was even able to add my name to the list of not so famous Bob's although I still think I should be "Most Famous Bob"     After all, how many Blogging Bob's can there be?

Then we went to Bobology 101 and now we are talking.   This is what I learned about my name:

THE ORIGIN & MEANING OF "BOB"

The name "Bob" is a palindrome, meaning it is spelled the same backward as it is forward. It is easy to say and easy to spell, even for those who suffer from dyslexia. But where did such name so simple that even a baby can correctly pronounce it originate?

The name "BOB" dates all the way back to the Medieval period, and was used, as it still is today, as a shortened name for "Robert". Interestingly, there were other rhyming variations of the name "Bob", including Hob, Nob and Dob. None of those last three were as popular and eventually fell by the wayside, and are seldom used by anyone, except perhaps someone who might hob-nob with a fellow named Dob.

The full name of "ROBERT" is of English, French, and Scandanavian origin. It means "bright fame", and was derived from Germanic the elements "hrod", meaning fame, and "beraht", meaning bright. The name of Robert was introduced to Britain by the Normans, and has become one of the most popular and common first names given to children in America through the centuries. Oddly, however, most guys named Robert prefer to be called "Bob".

                                                      So see..............................    I told you I had a great name!   

And by the way, if your name is Just Bob - like me ---- can you send me an e-mail to my new e-mail address which is bloggingbob2007@gmail.com    and can you tell me all about yourself?    Then I can Blog about my new (and true) friends who are Bob's  --- like me.

Love and Licks,

Just Bob