Tobey
A masculine name of English origin meaning "prosperous estate".
Name Census estimates that about 2,159 living Americans carry the first name Tobey. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 69.0% of registrations being male. The average person named Tobey today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tobey births was 1975 (106 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tobey. 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
2.2K
~ 1 in 158,756 Americans
Peak year
1975
106 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,881
Tracked since 1914
Gender
Gender distribution for Tobey
Tobey is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 2,448 total registrations, 1,690 (69.0%) were male and 758 (31.0%) were female.
Tobey as a male name
- Ranked #8,881 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2003 (85 births)
Tobey as a female name
- Ranked #18,984 in 2005
- 5 female births in 2005
- Peak: 1975 (53 births)
Popularity
Tobey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tobey from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 668 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tobey 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 Tobey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tobeys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Tobey, while Missouri, Florida, Maine recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tobey
The name Tobey has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is a diminutive form of the biblical name Tobiah, which means "God is good" or "the goodness of God." The name appears in the Book of Tobit, a work of Judeo-Hellenistic literature written around the 3rd century BCE.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Tobey can be found in the 16th century. Tobey Caulfield, born in 1547 in England, was a prominent merchant and landowner during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another notable bearer of the name was Tobey Wood, an English Puritan minister and author who lived from 1585 to 1654.
In the 17th century, Tobey Waller (1633-1690) was a renowned English mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of astronomy. He worked with notable figures such as Isaac Newton and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Moving into the 18th century, Tobey Smollett (1721-1771) was a Scottish novelist and playwright who is best known for his satirical works, including "The Adventures of Roderick Random" and "The Expedition of Humphry Clinker." His works provided a valuable commentary on 18th-century British society.
In the 19th century, Tobey Matthewson (1828-1908) was an American businessman and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. He was also involved in the banking industry and served as the president of a national bank.
Another notable figure with the name Tobey was Tobey Stevenson (1841-1904), an American politician and lawyer who served as the 12th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois from 1893 to 1897. He was also a successful attorney and was involved in various business ventures.
These are just a few examples of individuals who bore the name Tobey throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across different cultures and time periods.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Tobey
People
Tobey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tobey 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
Tobey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tobey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,159 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tobey 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 158,756 US residents.
Is Tobey a common name?
We classify Tobey as "Rare". It ranks above 94% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,448 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tobey most popular?
The single biggest year for Tobey was 1975, when 106 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tobey is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tobey a male name?
Yes, 69.0% of people registered as Tobey 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.