Toby
Toby is given to both girls and boys: 101 girls and 234 boys were given it in 2025 (#1,923 among girls’ names and #979 among boys’, #1,571 among all names counting both); 43,233 Americans have been recorded with it since 1882 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026). Boys have outnumbered girls among babies named Toby every year since 1946.
An estimated 36,200 Americans named Toby and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (84% of everyone recorded); the median is 46 years old and half are between 23 and 55.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Toby by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Toby mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Toby is “a male given name from Hebrew.”
Also “a female given name from Hebrew.”
The Middle English vernacular form of Tobias.
/ˈtoʊbi/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Toby?
#979 among boys’ names, 2025
Toby fell from #682 in 2015 to #979 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.19 to 0.14 per 1,000.
1,349 babies in 1975, the peak
Toby peaked in 1975, when 1,349 babies were given it (1,191 boys, #190 among boys’ names). The 335 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 25% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 101 | #1,923 | 234 | #979 |
| 2024 | 99 | #1,995 | 196 | #1,102 |
| 2023 | 98 | #2,017 | 158 | #1,241 |
| 2022 | 82 | #2,292 | 177 | #1,165 |
| 2021 | 89 | #2,128 | 193 | #1,091 |
| 2020 | 92 | #2,032 | 172 | #1,139 |
| 2019 | 76 | #2,373 | 226 | #951 |
| 2018 | 67 | #2,609 | 271 | #826 |
| 2017 | 80 | #2,318 | 284 | #806 |
| 2016 | 79 | #2,383 | 316 | #768 |
Every recorded year (127)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 80 | #2,338 | 371 | #682 |
| 2014 | 75 | #2,441 | 446 | #605 |
| 2013 | 71 | #2,530 | 486 | #548 |
| 2012 | 98 | #2,000 | 353 | #670 |
| 2011 | 61 | #2,864 | 291 | #776 |
| 2010 | 50 | #3,302 | 359 | #668 |
| 2009 | 56 | #3,086 | 396 | #633 |
| 2008 | 53 | #3,218 | 442 | #582 |
| 2007 | 51 | #3,328 | 462 | #559 |
| 2006 | 62 | #2,848 | 508 | #510 |
| 2005 | 67 | #2,573 | 529 | #474 |
| 2004 | 65 | #2,584 | 612 | #429 |
| 2003 | 64 | #2,550 | 582 | #433 |
| 2002 | 42 | #3,327 | 502 | #474 |
| 2001 | 71 | #2,282 | 413 | #532 |
| 2000 | 51 | #2,849 | 409 | #535 |
| 1999 | 38 | #3,368 | 333 | #585 |
| 1998 | 37 | #3,345 | 342 | #573 |
| 1997 | 41 | #2,971 | 346 | #557 |
| 1996 | 37 | #3,226 | 343 | #548 |
| 1995 | 45 | #2,724 | 316 | #576 |
| 1994 | 37 | #3,160 | 308 | #588 |
| 1993 | 34 | #3,344 | 284 | #617 |
| 1992 | 37 | #3,136 | 289 | #606 |
| 1991 | 32 | #3,432 | 257 | #636 |
| 1990 | 28 | #3,804 | 309 | #576 |
| 1989 | 46 | #2,519 | 263 | #606 |
| 1988 | 45 | #2,438 | 276 | #553 |
| 1987 | 46 | #2,327 | 294 | #524 |
| 1986 | 26 | #3,451 | 304 | #502 |
| 1985 | 57 | #1,946 | 322 | #484 |
| 1984 | 53 | #1,959 | 344 | #451 |
| 1983 | 39 | #2,428 | 385 | #416 |
| 1982 | 43 | #2,325 | 467 | #373 |
| 1981 | 39 | #2,485 | 456 | #377 |
| 1980 | 53 | #2,012 | 648 | #304 |
| 1979 | 55 | #1,913 | 667 | #298 |
| 1978 | 54 | #1,859 | 886 | #238 |
| 1977 | 93 | #1,281 | 1,058 | #209 |
| 1976 | 117 | #1,053 | 1,094 | #201 |
| 1975 | 158 | #848 | 1,191 | #190 |
| 1974 | 117 | #1,031 | 1,080 | #205 |
| 1973 | 98 | #1,136 | 1,005 | #218 |
| 1972 | 98 | #1,132 | 890 | #241 |
| 1971 | 76 | #1,404 | 1,031 | #229 |
| 1970 | 100 | #1,166 | 982 | #242 |
| 1969 | 79 | #1,269 | 754 | #272 |
| 1968 | 54 | #1,573 | 555 | #323 |
| 1967 | 67 | #1,347 | 426 | #363 |
| 1966 | 55 | #1,514 | 351 | #405 |
| 1965 | 74 | #1,255 | 473 | #350 |
| 1964 | 64 | #1,418 | 375 | #417 |
| 1963 | 90 | #1,157 | 390 | #408 |
| 1962 | 85 | #1,200 | 360 | #422 |
| 1961 | 74 | #1,294 | 301 | #468 |
| 1960 | 82 | #1,210 | 374 | #409 |
| 1959 | 73 | #1,260 | 295 | #464 |
| 1958 | 83 | #1,170 | 299 | #454 |
| 1957 | 89 | #1,114 | 250 | #494 |
| 1956 | 108 | #974 | 244 | #489 |
| 1955 | 100 | #1,002 | 190 | #533 |
| 1954 | 93 | #1,017 | 184 | #535 |
| 1953 | 84 | #1,060 | 180 | #529 |
| 1952 | 108 | #891 | 191 | #504 |
| 1951 | 109 | #861 | 143 | #580 |
| 1950 | 110 | #840 | 148 | #556 |
| 1949 | 117 | #805 | 149 | #548 |
| 1948 | 117 | #798 | 136 | #574 |
| 1947 | 127 | #766 | 148 | #554 |
| 1946 | 116 | #766 | 126 | #572 |
| 1945 | 133 | #633 | 123 | #539 |
| 1944 | 117 | #694 | 153 | #494 |
| 1943 | 160 | #597 | 116 | #591 |
| 1942 | 156 | #596 | 121 | #561 |
| 1941 | 170 | #544 | 91 | #643 |
| 1940 | 147 | #578 | 77 | #693 |
| 1939 | 154 | #536 | 72 | #706 |
| 1938 | 157 | #547 | 53 | #858 |
| 1937 | 118 | #628 | 66 | #755 |
| 1936 | 152 | #526 | 59 | #806 |
| 1935 | 94 | #691 | 57 | #833 |
| 1934 | 101 | #669 | 54 | #859 |
| 1933 | 58 | #893 | 36 | #1,102 |
| 1932 | 36 | #1,210 | 44 | #1,003 |
| 1931 | 35 | #1,241 | 30 | #1,279 |
| 1930 | 42 | #1,159 | 30 | #1,327 |
| 1929 | 35 | #1,280 | 27 | #1,409 |
| 1928 | 41 | #1,205 | 25 | #1,519 |
| 1927 | 25 | #1,719 | 33 | #1,290 |
| 1926 | 39 | #1,259 | 21 | #1,712 |
| 1925 | 39 | #1,269 | 27 | #1,447 |
| 1924 | 59 | #998 | 23 | #1,672 |
| 1923 | 36 | #1,326 | 28 | #1,416 |
| 1922 | 39 | #1,266 | 24 | #1,586 |
| 1921 | 59 | #968 | 23 | #1,643 |
| 1920 | 37 | #1,278 | 22 | #1,689 |
| 1919 | 45 | #1,102 | 30 | #1,317 |
| 1918 | 39 | #1,212 | 24 | #1,532 |
| 1917 | 38 | #1,180 | 22 | #1,582 |
| 1916 | 46 | #1,023 | 22 | #1,544 |
| 1915 | 40 | #1,073 | 27 | #1,302 |
| 1914 | 19 | #1,533 | 14 | #1,766 |
| 1913 | 24 | #1,146 | 11 | #1,793 |
| 1912 | 14 | #1,532 | under 5 | |
| 1911 | 13 | #1,364 | 7 | #1,523 |
| 1910 | 16 | #1,163 | 6 | #1,570 |
| 1909 | 8 | #1,749 | 8 | #1,147 |
| 1908 | 11 | #1,346 | under 5 | |
| 1907 | 6 | #2,038 | 6 | #1,331 |
| 1906 | under 5 | 5 | #1,399 | |
| 1905 | under 5 | 8 | #990 | |
| 1903 | 7 | #1,578 | under 5 | |
| 1902 | 5 | #2,016 | under 5 | |
| 1900 | under 5 | 5 | #1,487 | |
| 1895 | under 5 | 6 | #1,072 | |
| 1885 | under 5 | 5 | #1,088 | |
| 1882 | under 5 | 5 | #1,082 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Toby a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 43,233 Americans recorded as Toby, 19% are girls and 81% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Toby: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Toby, and how old are they?
36,200 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 84% of the 43,233 Americans ever recorded as Toby. The median Toby alive today is 46 years old; half are between 23 and 55.
The 2020 Census counted 34,007 people named Toby (5,833 women and girls, 28,174 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 36,239 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,020 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 4,510 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 12,900 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 5,570 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 7,660 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,590 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Toby born?
The states with the most babies named Toby are New York, Texas and California, with 32% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 4,970 | #1,112 | 1.5× |
| Texas | 3,513 | #1,343 | 1.1× |
| California | 3,056 | #1,427 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 1,785 | #1,104 | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 1,519 | #1,460 | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,371 | #840 | 0.6× |
| Indiana | 1,181 | #663 | 1.1× |
| Louisiana | 1,174 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Florida | 1,070 | #1,005 | 0.7× |
| North Carolina | 1,052 | #1,019 | 0.8× |
Where Toby is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Toby is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 1.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Toby with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 47,061 babies since 1880, Toby is the most given (92% of them). In 2025 it was given to 335 of their 343 babies (98%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Toby
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Toby and names like it
- Compare Toby and TobeyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sToby peaked in 1975.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Toby since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Toby: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1975The year the most babies were named Toby.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Toby alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with TMost given first.