Toby

Did you know?

A few things about Toby you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Toby

Toby Alderweireld

Belgian association football player (born 1989)

Choose Toby and your child shares a first name with Toby Alderweireld, a Belgian association football player. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Toby, like who?” Toby Alderweireld's Wikipedia article is available in 63 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Toby Alderweireld on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 7,299 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Toby, 234 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Toby would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryToby first shows up in US birth records in 1882, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 143 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1975, when it ranked #190. Today it's #977, so it could be due a comeback.
• 🚀TrendToby has climbed 157 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #977. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedToby is most popular in Kentucky, where it ranks #450, followed by Missouri (#559) and Minnesota (#586). It's in the top 1,000 in 13 states.
• ⚖️Boy or girlToby is given to both boys and girls: 70% of the 335 babies named Toby in 2025 were boys. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.
• 💬MeaningToby is an English form of Tobias, which means “God is good”. Our records link it to English and Hebrew roots.

About the name Toby

Toby is a gender-neutral name of English and Hebrew origin meaning “God is good”. It has 4 letters and 2 syllables, starting with T and ending in “-oby”. US birth records list Toby for boys from 1882 to 2025, in 123 of those 144 years. Its best year was 1975, when it ranked #190 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #977, with 234 babies. Of the 335 US babies named Toby in 2025, 30% were girls and 70% were boys.

Origin:English namesHebrew names