Toi
A Vietnamese name meaning "you" or "second person pronoun".
Name Census estimates that about 1,384 living Americans carry the first name Toi. It is a predominantly female name (96.6% of registrations). The average person named Toi today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Toi births was 1974 (61 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Toi. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Toi is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 53 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 247,655 Americans
Peak year
1974
61 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2008 SSA rank
#14,411
Tracked since 1944
Census
Toi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,543 people with the first name Toi, which placed it at #9,134 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,134
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,543 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
66.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Toi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Toi is Black at 66.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.5%) and White (10.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Toi described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Toi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American66.9% · 1,032
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.5% · 239
- White10.7% · 165
- Two or more races4.0% · 62
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 39
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Toi
Toi leans heavily female at 96.6% of total registrations, but 53 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Toi as a male name
- Ranked #14,411 in 2008
- 5 male births in 2008
- Peak: 1993 (12 births)
Toi as a female name
- Ranked #16,681 in 2012
- 6 female births in 2012
- Peak: 1974 (61 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Toi leans strongly female. 1,312 people counted with this name were female (84.9%), compared with 234 male bearers (15.1%).
Popularity
Toi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Toi from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 459 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
Toi 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 Toi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tois live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, Illinois, Texas recorded the most babies named Toi, while Pennsylvania, Alabama, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Toi
The name Toi finds its origins in the Maori language, spoken by the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. It emerged as a given name during the early centuries of Maori civilization, which dates back to around the 13th century CE. The name Toi is believed to have derived from the Maori word "toi," meaning "summit" or "peak," reflecting the significance of mountains in Maori culture.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Toi can be found in Maori oral traditions and mythological stories. According to these legends, Toi was the name of a prominent ancestor and navigator who arrived in New Zealand on one of the first waka (canoes) from the ancestral Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki. This mythical figure, Toi-te-huatahi, is celebrated in Maori folklore for his explorations and contributions to the early settlement of the islands.
Throughout Maori history, the name Toi has been bestowed upon various notable individuals. One famous bearer of this name was Toi Kai Rākau, a renowned tohunga (priest or expert) and carver who lived in the 16th century. His intricate wood carvings and expertise in traditional Maori arts and crafts have been celebrated and preserved in museums and cultural centers across New Zealand.
Another historically significant figure was Toi Haumurimu, a prominent 17th-century Maori chief and leader from the Ngāti Kahungunu iwi (tribe) in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. He played a crucial role in establishing and defending the territory of his people, earning a reputation as a skilled warrior and negotiator.
In the 18th century, Toi Whakairo was a revered tohunga whakairo (master carver) renowned for his exceptional woodcarving skills and contributions to the preservation of Maori artistic traditions. His intricate carvings adorned meeting houses and other important structures, serving as a testament to the rich cultural heritage of the Maori people.
Moving into the 19th century, Toi Hekeao was a respected Maori leader and orator from the Waikato region, known for his oratory skills and wisdom in navigating the complexities of the colonial era. He played a significant role in advocating for the rights and interests of his people during a period of rapid change and upheaval.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Toi throughout Maori history, reflecting its deep-rooted cultural significance and connection to the indigenous people of New Zealand.
People
Toi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Toi 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
Toi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Toi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,384 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Toi 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 247,655 US residents.
Is Toi a common name?
We classify Toi as "Rare". It ranks above 92% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,546 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Toi most popular?
The single biggest year for Toi was 1974, when 61 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Toi is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Toi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,543 people with the name Toi, or 0.51 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,134 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Toi in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Toi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Toi leans strongly female. 1,312 people counted with this name were female (84.9%), compared with 234 male bearers (15.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Toi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Toi is Black at 66.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.5%) and White (10.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Toi most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Toi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.9% (1,032 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Toi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Toi a female name?
Yes, 96.6% of people registered as Toi in the SSA data are female. 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.
Is Toi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Toi in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Toi can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are named Toi?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.