The baby name Crosby blends athletic and artistic vibes, but somehow it’s never quite caught on.
Thanks to Leitia for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME CROSBY MEAN?
The boys’ Top 100 reads like a phone book: Mason and Bennett, Cameron and Brooks. Y-ending last names like Riley, Wesley, and Murphy are favorites, too.
As a surname, Crosby claims centuries of usage. It appears mainly in Scotland and northern England, places with heavy Scandinavian influence.
It’s composed of two Old Norse elements. The first syllable comes from Old Norse – kross, ultimately from the Latin crux, forerunner of the English word cross. The familiar byr ending referred to any settlement or enclosure.
If you lived near a stone cross marking for a settlement or a road, Crosby might emerge as a logical surname: John Crosby was the Crosby who lived near the cross.
As a place name, it’s still heard. A village in Cumbria, in the northwest of England, is one example.
BING CROSBY and DAVID CROSBY
Notable Crosbys abound. An 18th century Lord Mayor of London answered to the unlikely name Brass Crosby.
But none of the historical figures can compete with a trio of more recent Crosbys.
Born in 1903, Harry Crosby adopted the nickname Bing after a comic strip in his town’s newspaper. Bing started performing while still a student in Spokane, Washington. From Spokane to Los Angeles, and then the world, Bing quickly became one of the most successful recording artists of the 20th century.
His heyday was the 1930s through 1950s. Bing won a Best Actor Academy Award in 1944 for Going My Way, and several of his songs, including the enduring “White Christmas” also earned Oscars and Grammys. But that wasn’t the end of his career. He was also a successful innovator, working to pioneer the idea of recording programming for radio.
Two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician David Crosby also comes to mind.
A founding member of The Byrds, you might know him better as a member of supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash … or Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. (But is there anything more defining for the 1960s than “Turn! Turn! Turn!”?)
ICE HOCKEY SURNAME
In this moment, the most famous Crosby takes the name in a different direction. Canada’s Sidney Crosby currently plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins. When he joined the NHL as a teenager, they called him “The Next One,” in homage to Wayne Gretzky – “The Great One.”
In 2009, he became the youngest captain to lead an NHL team to win the Stanley Cup. A year later, he scored the game winning goal to take home Olympic gold for Canada in the Vancouver games. He captained the Canadian team again in 2014, when they defended their Olympic title. He’s now a well-established player, the holder of several records for the Penguins as well as the NHL.
PARENTHOOD
Bing and David and Sid aside, the baby name Crosby’s biggest boost came from television. Dax Shepard played Zeek and Camille’s youngest son on Parenthood from 2010 through 2015.
Parenthood detailed the lives of the extended Braverman family, living in California. Crosby and his girlfriend-then-wife, plus their kids, featured across the series’ five seasons.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME CROSBY?
In 2009, just 72 boys born in the United States received the name.
By 2011, the name had more than quadrupled in use and debuted in the US Top 1000 at #741. Credit to Crosby Braverman.
The name occasionally crossed gender lines, too.
After the show left the air, popularity waned. It left the US Top 1000 entirely after 2021.
In 2024, 170 boys and 39 girls received the baby name Crosby.
Family names might explain some of Crosby’s use, but the name simply fits with current trends, too.
POLISHED RARITY
If you’re looking for a substitute for popular surname names like Hudson and Nolan, Crosby shares much of the same style and spirit. But the name’s sound remains distinctive and different, an appealing choice that feels rarer than you might expect.
It might be the perfect name for parents seeking something that stands out and fits in at the same time.
Would you consider the baby name Crosby?
First published on March 20, 2012, this post was revised and re-published on August 8, 2020 and again on October 30, 2025.
We have been tinkering with this name for a few weeks for our next kiddo. I already have a son, Linus, but I’m torn on whether I think Crosby works well as a sibling in this set. Any opinions for me?
AJO, I’ll ask on Facebook later today. I think they work just fine …
Wow, not many comments on this one. Parenthood is one of my favorite shows and I love the character Crosby, I often think about how cool his name is. I wonder how he got that name when his siblings are Adam, Sarah and Julia. Crosby is a great name, I’d like to see it used more. It would definitely be on my list for a third boy.
Yay! So glad you did a post on Crosby. 🙂 We were undecided on a name for our little man that’s due at the end of the month, but we decided on Crosby just a couple of weeks ago. 🙂
Congrats on baby #3! And I love Crosby – great choice!
Hey all,
I’m a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and I’m writing a story about kids named Crosby! I’ve already found a couple families and am looking for a couple more. I’d love to chat with anyone who may have been inspired to name his or her child after the Penguins hockey player!
Feel free to shoot me an email at mdefabo@post-gazette.com.
Thanks,
Mike DeFabo