Bababooey began as the nickname of Gary Dell'Abate from The Howard Stern Show and later became a well-known shout and prank reference online. The phrase spread widely through meme culture, remix videos, and voice clips, then picked up another wave of recognition through creators from the Filthy Frank era. It is still used because the word is instantly recognizable, sounds ridiculous on its own, and functions like a fast non sequitur in edits, much like bazinga in irony-heavy meme compilations.