Why Do We Call Them Bobby Pins?
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When someone needs to keep their hair in place—or try to pick a lock at the spur of the moment—they often reach for a bobby pin, the hair clip that branches off to make for a snug and slip-free fit. So why do we call them bobby pins? Does someone named Bobby have anything to do with their creation?
Not really. Bobby pins got their colloquial name from the bob hairstyle trend that exploded in popularity in the early 20th century. At the time, women typically sported longer hair. But when dancer Irene Castle opted for a short and sensible cut, her admirers followed suit—and ignited a sexist controversy in their wake. Many beauty salons refused to cut the hair of their female clients that short, sending women to barbers. (When the style persisted well into the 1920s, hair salons eventually relented.)
The style was named the Castle bob for a bit, after the woman who popularized the style, but eventually settled into “the bob.” To keep the hair fixed in place, hair clips were often used, and these clips became known as bobby pins.