Buddy is a boy name with a classic feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Buddy means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Buddy across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Buddy has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Buddy is a boy name of English origin meaning “friend, comrade”. An affectionate nickname used as a given name.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 22,585 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 1,693 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 47 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 3 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Buddy per year, United States (1893 to 2025). United States peaked in 1935 (604/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2016 (180/yr) · Scotland peaked in 2016 (8/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2016 (3/yr).
Buddy has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1935, when it ranked #459 nationally (given to 604 babies that year).
Bud · Buddie · Budd · Paddy · Beddie
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