Toy
A diminutive English word referring to a small, plaything for children.
Name Census estimates that about 871 living Americans carry the first name Toy. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 54.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Toy today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Toy births was 1919 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Toy. 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
- • Toy sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
871
~ 1 in 393,518 Americans
Peak year
1919
51 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2001 SSA rank
#12,166
Tracked since 1883
Census
Toy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,186 people with the first name Toy, which placed it at #10,986 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
#10,986
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,186 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Toy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Toy is White at 46.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (16.8%). 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 Toy 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 Toy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.8% · 555
- Black or African American28.3% · 336
- Asian and Pacific Islander16.8% · 199
- Two or more races3.9% · 46
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 12
Gender
Gender distribution for Toy
Toy is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 2,119 total registrations, 1,152 (54.4%) were male and 967 (45.6%) were female.
Toy as a male name
- Ranked #12,166 in 2001
- 5 male births in 2001
- Peak: 1919 (37 births)
Toy as a female name
- Ranked #13,042 in 1991
- 6 female births in 1991
- Peak: 1975 (30 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Toy on both sides of the split. Of the 1,182 people counted with this name, 478 were male (40.4%) and 704 were female (59.6%).
Popularity
Toy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Toy from the 1880s through to the 2000s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 345 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Toy 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 Toy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Toys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. South Carolina, Texas, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Toy, while North Carolina, Kentucky, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Toy
The given name Toy is a relatively uncommon name with its origins rooted in antiquity. The name is believed to have originated from the Old English word "tōi," which means "plaything" or "toy." This term initially referred to small objects used for amusement or entertainment, particularly by children.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Toy can be traced back to the 12th century, where it appeared in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and tenants in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. In this historical document, the name Toy was listed as a surname, possibly indicating an occupation or a distinguishing characteristic associated with the individual.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Toy remained relatively obscure, with few documented references. However, it gained some prominence during the Renaissance period when a notable figure by the name of Toy Phelyppes (c. 1510 - c. 1580) emerged as a prominent courtier and diplomat in the service of Queen Elizabeth I. Phelyppes played a significant role in deciphering coded messages and uncovering various plots against the Queen.
In the 17th century, the name Toy appeared in the works of renowned English playwright William Shakespeare. In his play "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," Shakespeare introduces a character named Toy, although it is not clear whether this was a given name or a nickname.
Moving forward to the 19th century, a notable figure named Toy Cullen (1837 - 1921) gained recognition as a highly skilled American baseball player. Cullen played for several notable teams, including the Brooklyn Eckfords and the New York Mutuals, and is credited with being one of the first professional baseball players.
Another individual of historical significance bearing the name Toy was Toy Shughrue (1903 - 1980), an American baseball player and manager. Shughrue played for various teams in the Major League Baseball, including the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Reds, and later served as a manager for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
While the name Toy has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has maintained a unique and intriguing legacy, often associated with playfulness, amusement, and entertainment. Despite its rarity, the name has been carried by individuals who have left their mark in various fields, from sports to literature and politics.
People
Toy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Toy 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
Toy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Toy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 871 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Toy 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 393,518 US residents.
Is Toy a common name?
We classify Toy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,119 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Toy most popular?
The single biggest year for Toy was 1919, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Toy is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Toy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,186 people with the name Toy, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,986 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 Toy 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 Toy?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Toy on both sides of the split. Of the 1,182 people counted with this name, 478 were male (40.4%) and 704 were female (59.6%). 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 Toy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Toy is White at 46.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (16.8%). 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 Toy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Toy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.8% (555 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 Toy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Toy a male name?
Yes, 54.4% of people registered as Toy 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.
Is Toy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Toy 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 Toy 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 common is the name Toy?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.