Tobe
A Japanese masculine name meaning "eternal life".
Name Census estimates that about 363 living Americans carry the first name Tobe. It is a predominantly male name (97.0% of registrations). The average person named Tobe today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tobe births was 1916 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tobe. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
363
~ 1 in 944,227 Americans
Peak year
1916
20 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2022 SSA rank
#9,191
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Tobe
Tobe leans heavily male at 97.0% of total registrations, but 29 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Tobe as a male name
- Ranked #12,168 in 2022
- 6 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1916 (20 births)
Tobe as a female name
- Ranked #9,191 in 1976
- 6 female births in 1976
- Peak: 1964 (8 births)
Popularity
Tobe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tobe from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 136 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tobe by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Tobe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tobes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Georgia, Alabama, Texas recorded the most babies named Tobe, while Texas, Alabama, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tobe
The name Tobe has its origins in various cultures and languages around the world, each with its unique historical significance and meaning.
In Japanese, the name Tobe is derived from the word "toberu," which means "to fly" or "to soar." It is believed to have emerged as a surname during the Heian period (794-1185 AD) and was later adopted as a given name, symbolizing freedom, aspiration, and a soaring spirit.
In some African cultures, particularly in Nigeria, the name Tobe is a variation of the Yoruba name "Tobi," which means "to worship" or "to revere." It is a name often given to children born during religious festivals or ceremonies, signifying a deep connection to spirituality and tradition.
The name Tobe can also be traced back to ancient Hebrew roots, where it is a variation of the name "Tobiah," which means "Yahweh is good." This name appears in the biblical book of Ezra and is associated with a person who helped rebuild the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tobe can be found in the historical records of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan, where a samurai warrior named Tobe Masataka (1493-1573) played a significant role in the unification of Japan during the Sengoku period.
Another notable figure bearing the name Tobe was Tobe Hooper (1943-2017), an American filmmaker and screenwriter best known for his horror classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974), which became a cult favorite and influenced the horror genre for decades.
In the realm of literature, Tobe Hooker (1904-1986) was an American novelist and short story writer, renowned for his works set in the American South, including the novel "The Rope Dancers" (1964), which explored themes of race and class in the rural South.
Tobe Baer (1934-2004) was a Canadian artist and sculptor, known for his large-scale public installations and his contributions to the development of minimalist and conceptual art movements in Canada.
Tobe Nwigwe (born 1991) is a contemporary Nigerian-American rapper, singer, and songwriter, who has gained recognition for his unique blend of hip-hop, spoken word, and activism, addressing social issues and celebrating African culture through his music.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Tobe
People
Tobe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tobe as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tobe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tobe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 363 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tobe going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 944,227 US residents.
Is Tobe a common name?
We classify Tobe as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 978 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tobe most popular?
The single biggest year for Tobe was 1916, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tobe is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tobe a male name?
Yes, 97.0% of people registered as Tobe in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.