Meaning and background
The story behind Hobie
Hobie is an attested informal form of Hobart: the surfing and sailing pioneer Hobart Alter was known as Hobie, and the watersports brand adopted his nickname. In a 1987 interview, Alter explained that family members had used Hobart, Hobe and Hobie across generations. That supplies an unusually direct naming source. It does not establish that every modern Hobie is named for Alter, nor does it turn the brand into an ancient word meaning.
- Origin
- Documented affectionate form of Hobart, notably borne by watersports pioneer Hobart “Hobie” Alter. Source
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About Hobie
Recorded as a dog’s name
Hobie appears in 4 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
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Sources and research notes (1)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.