Toye
Of unknown meaning and origin, its rarity may suggest an invented or diminutive form.
Name Census estimates that about 299 living Americans carry the first name Toye. It is a predominantly female name (94.9% of registrations). The average person named Toye today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Toye births was 1971 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Toye. 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
299
~ 1 in 1,146,336 Americans
Peak year
1971
17 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1999 SSA rank
#9,246
Tracked since 1912
Census
Toye in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 416 people with the first name Toye, which placed it at #23,505 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
#23,505
National first-name rank
People counted
416
416 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
52.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Toye
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Toye is Black at 52.6%. The next largest groups are White (41.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Toye 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 Toye at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American52.6% · 219
- White41.6% · 173
- Two or more races2.6% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Toye
Toye leans heavily female at 94.9% of total registrations, but 21 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Toye as a male name
- Ranked #11,468 in 1999
- 5 male births in 1999
- Peak: 1976 (6 births)
Toye as a female name
- Ranked #9,246 in 1985
- 7 female births in 1985
- Peak: 1971 (17 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Toye on both sides of the split. Of the 417 people counted with this name, 94 were male (22.5%) and 323 were female (77.5%).
Popularity
Toye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Toye from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 124 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Toye 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 Toye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Toyes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Toye
The given name Toye has its origins in the Yoruba language, spoken by the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria and parts of neighboring countries in West Africa. The name is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 13th to 15th centuries.
Toye is derived from the Yoruba word "toyé," which translates to "wealth has returned" or "prosperity has come back." The name carries a connotation of good fortune, abundance, and renewed prosperity. It was likely given to children as a hopeful expression of the family's or community's aspirations for a prosperous future.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Toye can be found in the oral traditions and folklore of the Yoruba people. It is mentioned in certain proverbs and wise sayings that have been passed down through generations, reflecting the cultural significance of the name.
Historically, the name Toye has been associated with a few notable figures in Yoruba culture and history. One example is Toye Kéhindewhich, a renowned 17th-century Yoruba warrior and military strategist known for his bravery and leadership in defending the Oyo Empire against external threats.
Another prominent individual bearing the name Toye was Toye Ayansola, a respected Yoruba poet and oral historian from the late 19th century. He was known for his mastery of the Yoruba language and his contributions to preserving the cultural heritage and traditions of the Yoruba people through his poetic works.
In more recent times, the name Toye gained recognition through Toye Ilori, a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist born in 1940. He founded the Toye Ilori Foundation, which has played a significant role in supporting education and community development initiatives in Nigeria.
Toye Arulogun, born in 1935, was a prominent Nigerian lawyer and human rights activist who advocated for democracy and the rule of law in his country. He was appointed as the first Ombudsman of Nigeria in 1975.
Lastly, Toye Sheesan, born in 1947, is a Nigerian artist and sculptor known for his intricate wood carvings and sculptures that depict traditional Yoruba themes and cultural motifs.
While the name Toye has its roots in the Yoruba culture of West Africa, it has gained recognition and use in various parts of the world, transcending its cultural origins and carrying the essence of its meaning – a symbol of prosperity and renewed fortune.
People
Toye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Toye 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
Toye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Toye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 299 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Toye 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 1,146,336 US residents.
Is Toye a common name?
We classify Toye as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 409 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Toye most popular?
The single biggest year for Toye was 1971, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Toye is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Toye in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 416 people with the name Toye, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,505 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 Toye 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 Toye?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Toye on both sides of the split. Of the 417 people counted with this name, 94 were male (22.5%) and 323 were female (77.5%). 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 Toye?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Toye is Black at 52.6%. The next largest groups are White (41.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Toye most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Toye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.6% (219 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 Toye in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Toye a female name?
Yes, 94.9% of people registered as Toye 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 Toye still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Toye 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 Toye 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 share the name Toye?
Want to know how many people have the name Toye? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.