Toby
Toby was the 979th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 234 babies. Its best year was 1975, when it ranked 190th with 1,191 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 297 places. More babies were named Toby in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Meaning form of Tobias; "God is good" · Hebrew, English
Say it TOH-bee /ˈtoʊbi/
- Rank in 2025
- #979 boys, up 160 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 234boys
- Girls and boys
- 33% girls, 67% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19751,191 babies
- Total since 1880
- 43,233babies recorded
What does the name Toby mean?
Toby is the medieval English everyday form of Tobias, from the Hebrew Toviyah, "God is good" (DMNES: "the goodness of God"). Tobias is the hero of the Book of Tobit, which is in the Catholic and Orthodox Old Testament. Wikipedia notes Toby can also come from the Irish surname Tobin. In the US it is mainly a boys' name and was most common in the 1970s.
טוביה (Hebrew, “Toviyah, "God is good"”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Tobias, Tobiah, Tobin, Tobey.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean God.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Toby', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Tobias', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wikipedia, 'Toby', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Toby popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,923 | #979 | 101 | 234 |
| 2020 | #2,032 | #1,139 | 92 | 172 |
| 2010 | #3,303 | #668 | 50 | 359 |
| 2000 | #2,853 | #535 | 51 | 409 |
| 1990 | #3,809 | #577 | 28 | 309 |
| 1980 | #2,012 | #304 | 53 | 648 |
| 1970 | #1,166 | #242 | 100 | 982 |
| 1960 | #1,211 | #409 | 82 | 374 |
| 1950 | #841 | #557 | 110 | 148 |
| 1940 | #578 | #693 | 147 | 77 |
| 1930 | #1,159 | #1,327 | 42 | 30 |
| 1920 | #1,278 | #1,689 | 37 | 22 |
| 1910 | #1,163 | #1,571 | 16 | 6 |
| 1900 | — | #1,489 | — | 5 |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Toby, counting every spelling?
Toby is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #850 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #979 for Toby on its own. Together these spellings went to 273 boys in 2025.
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Toby?
234 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Toby (0.06 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Toby born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 36 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Toby.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Toby?
About 30,300 people born in the US named Toby are alive today, with a median age of 45; half are between 23 and 54. That makes Toby mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Toby by state
How common Toby was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Minnesota (2.7×), Wisconsin (2.3×), Kentucky (2.1×), Indiana (1.9×), Michigan (1.5×). In 28 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Toby: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Toby, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Toby · Sibling names for Toby
Toby is also a nickname for Tobias.
Questions about the name Toby
What does Toby mean?
Toby means “form of Tobias; "God is good"” (Hebrew, English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Toby?
Toby was the 979th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 234 babies. Its best year was 1975, when it ranked 190th with 1,191 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 297 places. More babies were named Toby in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Is Toby a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 33% girls, 67% boys given the name Toby in the US.
Where is Toby most popular?
In 2021–2025, Toby was most common in Minnesota (0.30 per 1,000 boys), followed by Wisconsin and Kentucky.